Alexander Zverev equals record that Andrey Rublev held for less than 30 minutes

Andrey Rublev kept up his push for a first title of 2026, easing past Lorenzo Sonego at the Barcelona Open.

After a straight-sets win over Mariano Navone in the opening round, Rublev followed up with another strong performance, defeating Sonego 6-2, 6-3. The Russian is still searching for his first tour-level title of the season, having fallen just short in Hong Kong, Doha and Dubai.

But with Carlos Alcaraz withdrawing from the tournament, Rublev has a clearer path to chase silverware at this ATP 500 event. On his way to silverware in Spain’s capital, he set a unique tennis record – though it lasted less than half an hour.

“Rublev has become the only player in history to serve four double faults and hit four aces consecutively,” wrote @perfect.tennisuk. “So him.”

The record was even covered by Eurosport, who compiled highlights from what they called “the most unpredictable game you’re likely to see on clay all year.”

Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev both break records at the Barcelona Open

With his win, Rublev secured a spot in his 33rd ATP 500 quarterfinal, the most by any player since the format began in 2009.

He had been level with Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev after reaching the semifinals in Dubai earlier this year.

But Rublev didn’t hold sole possession of the record for long. Less than half an hour later, Zverev matched him again by winning his second-round match at the Munich Open.

Rafael Nadal sits just behind in joint-fourth place on that list, alongside David Ferrer and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all with 29 appearances.

This marks the third time this year that Rublev has reached an ATP 500 quarterfinal. In addition to Barcelona and Dubai, he also made it to the last four at the Qatar Open earlier in the season.

Andrey Rublev set to play in July’s Estoril tournament

Rublev has been confirmed for the Estoril Open, a clay-court tournament scheduled for July.

He first appeared at the ATP 250 event back in 2017 but hasn’t returned since.

During his debut, Rublev won a qualifying match against Sam Groth but then lost to Bjorn Fratangelo, which meant he didn’t make it into the main draw.

The Russian currently holds 17 ATP Tour-level singles titles and will be hoping to increase that number when he heads back to Estoril this summer.

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