Andrey Rublev never gave up in the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters final against Holger Rune to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
Fans in Monte Carlo wanted to see one more attractive match after a week of high-quality tennis at the first ATP 1000 clay-court tournament of the season, and the final match was exactly that as Rune and Rublev made sure to create a proper rematch of their blockbuster meeting in Melbourne earlier this year.
Both were in a great form at the Monte-Carlo Country Club as Rune defeated Jannik Sinner on his way to the final, while Rublev took down Taylor Fritz who was bidding to become the first American to reach the final in more than two centuries.
Both of their semifinal matches were delayed by the rain but that wasn't the case for the final. Early in the first set, both players had chances to break their opponent, but the first few break points were unused. That changed in the sixth game when Rune broke first to lead 4-2 in the opener.
However, the response from Rublev came very soon as he broke back and in the ninth game, the Russian had a chance to break again and serve for the set. But Rune denied him the opportunity and created his own chance a few games later. The Dane had a break point which was also a set point in the twelfth game and after using it, he won the first set 7-5.
But Rublev didn't make it all the way to the final just to lose in two sets to the Danish teenager. He broke his opponent's serve early in the second set and despite a quick comeback from Rune, the Russian added two more breaks and won the second set 6-2 to force a decider.
The third set was a real roller-coaster. Rune broke first in the longest game of the match, and a few games later, he led 4-1 and 40-30 as he could add another break to seal the deal.
But Rublev wasn't giving up. He was playing a very good level of tennis throughout the match, hitting 33 winners and making only 8 unforced errors, and he continued to paint the lines also in the third set when facing the deficit.
The Russian broke back but not just that. He added one more break in the eleventh game to complete a sensational comeback and win the match 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 to lift his first ATP Masters 1000 title.
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