April 15, (THEWILL) – Andrey Rublev booked a place in the Monte Carlo Masters final by defeating Taylor Fritz on Saturday.
The Russian tennis player recovered from losing the first set to triumph 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Rublev, who reached the final of the same tournament last year but lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas, will meet either Jannik Sinner or Holger Rune in Sunday’s final.
The match was characterised by a long opening set, in which both players struggled on serve. Fritz eventually broke Rublev in the 12th game to take the lead. However, Rublev quickly regained his composure in the second set, racing through it to force a decider.
Following a rain delay, Rublev came back even stronger, securing an immediate break to seal the victory. Rublev admitted that the match was a difficult one, especially mentally. He said: “It was tough mentally to play against him because I was thinking if I would have chances.
“I started really well and then I was up a break and then he broke me back, but I knew I would have chances. In the end we had a great match and I am pleased with the win.” Although Fritz had an impressive week, he remains yet to reach his first ATP final on clay.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
