Holger Rune was able to overcome Andrey Rublev in a semifinal match at the 2023 Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) Grand Final in London.
While Andrey "Rublo" Rublev had a smooth sailing through the round robin stage, winning all three matches, Holger "The Viking" Rune had to fight in his last match to book the Final Four spot.
He eventually beat Gael "La Monf" Monfils, and the semifinal showdown was set. Previously, it seemed that the format of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown suited the Russian, while the Danish player struggled, but in the first quarter of the match, it looked to be the opposite.
Rune was the better player, winning the opening quarter in a dominant style 20-10, but the match got heated in the second quarter of the match, due to a misunderstanding.
Shortly before the end of the second quarter, with the score very close, Rublev wanted to use his "next point counts x3" card, but the umpire seemingly did not notice that.
As a result, the Russian was not allowed to use his card after the time ran out, and he got very mad about it, discussing it with the umpire and the match referee as well.
Those didn't change their decision, and Rublev went on to lose the following point, losing the second quarter of the match 11-12, as Rune established a 2-0 lead.
In the third quarter, at the same score, 11-11, the Russian ostentatiously went to show the umpire that he wants to use his card, but he didn't succeed to win the point, and went on to lose the match.
Rune won the match 20-10, 12-11, 16-11, to reach the final of the 2023 UTS Grand Final in London. In the final, he will await the winner of the match between Jack "The Power" Draper and Casper "The Ice Man" Ruud.
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