Titleholder Rublev loses his crown in Hong Kong

The year 2025 begins in Hong Kong for Andrey Rublev. The Russian, ranked 8th in the world, was back in a tournament where he had triumphed last year against Emil Ruusuvuori.

In his Round of 16 opener, the two-time Masters 1000 winner faced Fabian Marozsan.

The Hungarian had dominated Roman Safiullin in the first round (6-1, 7-6) and now faced a second Russian player.

Despite hitting more winners (39 for the Russian vs. 29 for Marozsan) and fewer unforced errors (29 vs. 37) than his opponent, Rublev fell short and lost his first game (7-5, 3-6, 6-3).

This was Rublev's sixth defeat in his last nine matches (apart from his withdrawal prior to his quarter-final against Corentin Moutet in Metz), and he loses his title from the outset.

The result means he will have to drop at least one place in the rankings next week.

For their part, Marozsan will challenge Shang Juncheng for a place in the semi-finals. The other quarter-finals will pit Kei Nishikori against Cameron Norrie, Alexandre Muller against Arthur Fils and Jaume Munar against Lorenzo Musetti. With the assurance of a French player in the last four.