Tennis
Monte Carlo Masters: Rublev upsets Fritz and advances to finals
Andrei Rublev returned to the Monte Carlo Masters final after beating Taylor Fritz 2-1 despite the American winning the first set.
Qualifying for the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters Grand Final went to Andrei Rublev, who defeated Taylor Fritz with a set reversal. 5-7, 6-1, 6-3after 2 hours and 5 minutes of competition but also about 2 hours break due to rain.
This is the second time that the 25-year-old Russian has reached the final of the Sand Masters in Monaco, most recently in 2021, where he was beaten by Stefanos Tsitsipas. Overall, this is the 19th final of his career and he will claim his 13th title against duo winner Yannick Schinner-Holger Rune.
In relation to the game, Rublev broke into the game with “Guten Abend” while then perfectly defending his service to make it 2-0. The reaction of his 25-year-old American opponent was immediate as he cleared the break and brought the match to an even level (2-2) while holding the score until game 10 after clearing the next 2 breaks from Rublev (5-5).
In the 11th game, Fritz took a narrow lead for the 2nd time in the match and held the world No. 5 to one point (6-5), while now having psychology on his side he broke it for the 4th .( !) time service and ideally finished the first round of the game (7-5).
In the 2nd set, Rublev was determined from the start to send the match into a deciding game, as he broke in the first game, followed by the defense of his serve (2:0).
The No. 10 in the ATP rankings temporarily narrowed the gap (2-1), but with a streak of 4/4 games won, the Russian confidently tied the set and fully regained the momentum (6-1). .
In the decider we saw Fritz start better with a break (2:1), but Rublev reacted immediately with another overtaking maneuver (3:2), and there the game was interrupted for a long time because of the constant rain.
When the two tennis players returned to the court, Rublev dominated the game and came closer and closer to victory with another break (4:2). After that, neither could break the other’s serve and Andrey pulled off an impressive turnaround to qualify for the Monaco final (6-2).
SOURCE: Tennis24
Source: sport 24
