Rublev beats Fritz in rain-delayed Monte Carlo semi-final

| by Tom Grant

Andrey Rublev reached the 19th ATP Tour final of his career with a comeback win over American Taylor Fritz in bruising conditions at the Monte-Carlo Masters.

Despite the pressure of being the highest seed left in the draw, the Russian came out on top as he triumphed 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 over the American in a rain-delayed two hours six minutes on the Court Rainier III. He will now go in to Sunday’s final looking to secure his first Masters 1000 title after losing in his two previous finals, one here in Monte Carlo in 2021 and another in Cincinnati the same year.

It was an erratic first set by both players as the rain clouds threatened overhead, Rublev conceding the early break he had earned by pushing a forehand wide to level the match at 2-2. With much of the match played backhand to backhand, the young duo then shared breaks of serve before Fritz stopped the returner’s dominance with a solid hold to lead 4-3.

Fritz Still Unsure Whether He's Good On Clay Despite Monte Carlo Run
Fritz Still Unsure Whether He's Good On Clay Despite Monte Carlo Run

It was finely balanced, but it was Rublev – the highest seed remaining in the draw – who had the chance to claim the opener when he broke again and then served for it at 5-4. Three times the Russian had been a break up in the set but he couldn’t close it out as Fritz broke again to make it 5-5. It was the American now with the momentum and there was an inevitability about proceedings as he broke the Rublev serve once more, pinching the set 7-5, much to Rublev’s frustration.

The Russian could have been forgiven for feeling flat after he somehow let the opener slip through his grasp, but he righted the wrongs in the second, a driven return stretching Fritz and Rublev was again up an early break. The man from Moscow has belief in his game and he finally backed up the break – something he couldn’t do in the first set – as he wrong-footed Fritz with a forehand winner.

He fought off a Fritz breakpoint with a barrage of powerful groundstrokes to lead 3-1 before getting some insurance with another break after Fritz had gone long from another scorching return. The Russian was 4-1 up and he saw it through with yet another break to take it 6-1 and move the match into the decider. Rublev had won 76% of his first serve points in the second compared to Fritz’s 33% and if those figures remained there was only going to be one winner.

But it was the American who made the first move in the final set, a powerful forehand winner securing the break 2-1. However, in a match that saw no less than 13 breaks of serve, it was back to another misstep from the man with ball on racket as Fritz relinquished his grip on the match and handed Rublev the initiative as the Russian broke with a backhand winner.

A rain break of an hour and 48 minutes delayed proceedings with Rublev 3-2 up on serve but upon the resumption of play it was the Russian who grabbed his chance in the swirling wind, forcing Fritz into some remarkable defence before clipping the line with a winner after the best rally of the match. He was 4-2 up now and he continued his dominance in the next game to put himself in touching distance of the final.

Rublev won nine of the first 11 points played after the restart and, after failing to convert two match points on the Fritz serve, he finished the match in style with a marvellous forehand winner to end a three-match losing streak against the American. He will look to claim his first Masters 1000 title against either Jannik Sinner or Holger Rune in Sunday's showpiece final.

Rublev Cruises Past Struff Into Monte-Carlo Masters Semifinals
Rublev Cruises Past Struff Into Monte-Carlo Masters Semifinals

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