Russian tennis player Rublev advances to the second round of the Basel tournament

Rublev defeated Swiss qualifier Stricker in straight sets

The Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev has reached the second round of the ATP tournament in Basel, Switzerland.

Rublev, seeded fifth, defeated Swiss qualifier Alexander Stricker 6-3, 6-4 in the first round on Monday. The Russian won 76% of his first-serve points and broke Stricker's serve three times to secure victory in one hour and 28 minutes.

Rublev, 25, has been in good form in recent weeks, having reached the semi-finals of the Astana Open and the quarter-finals of the Moscow Open. He will now face either Maxime Cressy of the United States or Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland in the second round.

The Basel tournament is an ATP 500 event and is being held indoors on hard courts. The top seed is Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, who is making his return to action after a month-long injury layoff.

Other notable players in the draw include Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, Marin Cilic of Croatia, and Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland.