Andrey Rublev implodes at end of Barcelona exit after Brandon Nakashima clinches upset

For the first two months of this season, Brandon Nakashima spent the bulk of his time at the ATP Challenger level looking to recapture the form that previously took him to the Top 50 in 2022.

Still just 22, the San Diego, Calif. native has shaved nearly 50 spots off the ranking he began 2024 with thanks to those match reps. On Tuesday, Nakashima posted his biggest win of the season, at the ATP 500 level no less, against an opponent trending in the opposite direction.

Taking on Andrey Rublev, Nakashima ousted the No. 2 seed, 6-4, 7-6 (6), to reach the third round of the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell. While he made just 55 percent of his first serves, Nakashima was not broken in the contest.

Unable to convert any of his five break point chances in the second set, the American served out the victory when Rublev’s defensive backhand slice flew long. The world No. 8 imploded upon suffering his fourth consecutive defeat, slamming his racquet to the clay court six times before shaking hands.

"I got myself a lot of opportunities on his serves and also was controlling a lot with my backhand crosscourt to his backhand," Nakashima told ATP Media. "And also mixing it up with some slices and drop shots. I think that was very important."

Rublev has lost the last eight sets he’s played, dating back to his third-round exit to Jiri Lehecka at the BNP Paribas Open. The 26-year-old began the year in promising fashion at 14-3, highlighted by capturing the Hong Kong trophy in the first week.

But Rublev hasn’t been the same since being disqualified from his Dubai semifinal with Alexander Bublik for yelling at a line judge, with his lone victory coming over Andy Murray in his Indian Wells opener. Last week, his Monte Carlo title defense was immediately halted by Alexei Popyrin.

Nakashima celebrated his second Top 10 win, adding to his October 2023 victory over Holger Rune in Shanghai. The 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals champion has taken four of five contests on clay this year, having lost to eventual champion Ben Shelton in the Houston quarterfinals earlier this month.

Eighth seed Sebastian Baez and 15th seed Borna Coric also went down.

Matteo Arnaldi saved four match points—including three in a row during a second set tie-break—to stun Baez, 5-7, 7-6 (8), 6-2. Facundo Diaz Acosta upended Coric, 6-2, 7-5.