MELBOURNE – Never-say-die fifth seed Andrey Rublev saved two match points to topple Danish teen Holger Rune in a tense five-set clash on Monday, booking his place in the Australian Open quarter-finals.
In a battle of two former junior world number ones, the Russian broke when Rune was serving for the match, then saved two match points before winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (11/9) in sapping heat on Rod Laver Arena.
He will face either nine-time champion Novak Djokovic, who is struggling with a hamstring injury, or Australian hope Alex De Minaur for a place in the semi-finals.
The victory put the 25-year-old into the Melbourne quarter-finals for a second…