Andrey Rublev defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2022 Serbia Open final thanks to a third-set physical collapse by the Serbian, who played quite a bit of tennis in the past week.
The Serbian player played three sets in all matches this week, and eventually, it caught up with him. It happened in the final of the ATP 250 event, as he still lacks matches, considering he hasn't played many of them this year.
Either way, it's been a very positive week for Djokovic, who will certainly get to peak shape either in Madrid or Rome, where he confirmed his participation. The goal is the French Open, the second major of the season.
The final in Belgrade was similar to many of Djokovic's matches this week. Once again, it was a slow start against an opponent who played better early. Rublev was on fire from the start, with his forehand working very well.
He served well the entire match as well, which helped him win it. The second set was one where Djokovic finally showed a bit of life. He gave it his everything in the early stages of the set, fending off Rublev, who was applying pressure.
Towards the end of the set, Djokovic collapsed a bit physically but was able to hang on in a game where he had to save break points. Eventually, he got to the tie-break, in which the Russian couldn't convert his chances, losing it 4-7.
The final set featured Djokovic, who simply was not able to play the way he wanted. Rublev rolled past him with ease as the Serb felt fatigued. The Russian was superb, while his opponent was not finding solutions to the problems.
The final score was 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0, and a very important win for Rublev, who will undoubtedly remember this week at the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade.
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