Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Day 4: Andrey Rublev rallies to reach semi-finals

It's quarter-finals day at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and all four matches will be staged on Centre Court. Russian second seed Andrey Rublev features in the first match against American Mackenzie McDonald, followed by the clash between Italian fourth seed Jannik Sinner and Hubert Hurkacz, the fifth seed from Poland.

The evening session begins with world No 1 and five-time champion Novak Djokovic up against Czech qualifier Jiri Vesely, before Canadian sixth seed Denis Shapovalov faces Richardas Berankis, the qualifier from Lithuania.

Andrey Rublev was forced to fight back from a set down for the second time this week as the Russian second seed booked his place in the Dubai semi-finals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-1 win over American Mackenzie McDonald.

The Russian, who also dropped the first set against Soonwoo Kwon in the second round, was slow out of the blocks against McDonald, who broke in the opening game of the match and again in the fourth to move into a 5-0 lead. Rublev broke back and held for 5-2 but the Russian was broken again while attempting to extend the set.

The roles were reversed somewhat in the second set and, while Rublev faced and saved break points, he managed to convert twice on the McDonald serve to level the match. The momentum had firmly swung towards the world No 7 for the deciding set as he raced into a 5-0 lead, before closing out the win in his second match point.

"I was thinking, today for sure it's over," Rublev said, referring to the match after losing the first set. "I told myself to keep fighting and see what happens. I managed to break him at 3-3 and I started to feel better and I was able to change the match."

Rublev, 24, has been in fine form so far this season, having arrived in