Tennis: Quentin Halys achieves the feat by beating Andrey Rublev

He did it! Frenchman Quentin Halys, ranked 77th in the world, claimed the best victory of his career on Tuesday by beating Russian Andrey Rublev (9th) in the first round of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai. The 28-year-old right-hander won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) against the former world No. 5, winner of 17 titles on the circuit, the latest of which was on Saturday in Doha.

The highest ranked opponent beaten by Halys so far was Australian Alex De Minaur, ranked 18th in his defeat against the Frenchman in the second round of the Masters 1000 in Miami in 2023. The Parisian claimed his first victory in eight matches in the ATP 500 on Tuesday, the third level in the tournament hierarchy after the Grand Slams and the Masters 1000.

In 2025, he had only won one match so far, in January, in the first round of the Australian Open . Halys was particularly solid in the end of the match, fending off six break points at 5-5 before winning the deciding tie-break on his third match point.

Halys will face Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut (53rd at 36 years old) in the second round, where he joins his compatriot Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (29th), who qualified on Monday in two sets.

French No. 2 Arthur Fils (19th) was, however, soundly beaten on Tuesday in the first round by Portuguese Nuno Borges, 6-2, 6-1, in just over an hour. The 20-year-old Frenchman was making his return to competition in Dubai after having to withdraw from the Marseille (ATP 250) and Doha (ATP 500) tournaments due to a left thigh injury.