Second seed Andrey Rublev staged an escape act to keep his title defence alive with a 1-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina to enter the quarterfinals of the ATP Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship on Wednesday.

Defending champion Rublev was staring at five match points when World No. 29 Davidovich Fokina led by a set and 6-1 in the tie-breaker. That was when the Spaniard suffered a meltdown, and the Russian roared after he put the match on level terms. Rublev held the whip hand in the third set tiebreak and ran out the winner, much to his relief.

“I am super happy to win this match against such a great and tough player. The beginning wasn’t good. He [Davidovich Fokina] started really well, hitting hard, and I didn’t have many options. Then I started to be positive and came back in the crazy tiebreak from 6-1. I’ve never done it in my life before. I won the final set tiebreak also. So, I’m really, really happy,” Rublev said.

He meets Botic van de Zandschulp in the last eight. World No. 33 Van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands saw off the challenge of Mikael Ymner of Sweden, ranked 59 in the world.