ATP: Andrey Rublev crowned in Monte-Carlo after a comeback against Holger Rune

Two years after falling in the final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, the time had finally come for Andrey Rublev in Monte-Carlo. The Russian overcame a one-set deficit and overcame a three-game deficit in the final set to win in straight sets 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 over Holger Rune.

“I don’t know what to say… In the third set, at one point I thought that I had no more chance of winning,” commented Rublev, who nearly trailed 5-1 in the deciding set before to turn the situation around.

“I don’t know how I did it. I tried to play until the end because my last two finals (of Masters 1000) I had given up. This time, I said to myself that even if I had to lose, at least I had to fight until the end,” he added.

Rublev thus succeeds Tsitsipas as champion of the tournament. The Greek had won the last two editions. Rublev therefore obtains the 13th title of his career and his first in 2023.

The 5th-seeded Russian needed 2 hours 33 minutes to get the better of 6th-seeded Rune. This is Rublev’s first victory in a Masters 1000.

Rune was the first to break his opponent in the sixth game of the opening set to take a 4-2 lead, but Rublev quickly brought it all back on even serve the next game on his fifth break point.

The two men played a close end to the set, until Rune offered a set point on Rulev’s serve, an opportunity he did not miss to seize the first set.

Then in the second set, Rublev opened the set with a break of serve to take an early 2-0 lead, before seeing Rune recover to 2-2 moments later. The rest of the set, however, fell to Rublev, who won the next four games to force a final set.

But Rune found his rhythm from the start of the ultimate round. A break of service obtained in the third game allowed the Dane to forge a three-game lead.

In the cables, Rublev found a way to come from behind and he in turn won three games in a row thanks to a break of service in the 7th game. Tied 5-5, Rublev took the upper hand with a break of service and he confirmed his title on his service in the next game.