The ATP ranking said that, in these somewhat atypical semifinals for a tournament of this category, the main favorite for the title was Andrey Rublev, eighth in the world rankings. And the truth is that the 26-year-old Russian asserted his status as a player to beat in this Friday’s semifinal, in which he surpassed Taylor Fritz (6-4 and 6-3 in 1h12) to reach the fifth final of Masters 1,000 of his career, the first at the Madrid Open and the 25th in any category on the circuit. Rublev, who will face the winner of tonight’s duel between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, is one win away from adding the second Masters 1,000 of his life and rising to sixth place in the world ranking.
The break with which Fritz began the semifinal was, in the end, the only time in which the one from San Diego was able to hurt the rest. Rublev, as in the quarterfinals in which he beat Carlos Alcaraz, was excellent with his serve: 75% of first serves (55% from Fritz) and 82% of points won with his first serve . Andrey recovered the initial break immediately, and since then he only conceded two break chances to his rival, who failed to find success in the important moments. The Muscovite found himself with a break in an absolute disconnection from Taylor to close the first set, and in the second he continued to be intractable until, with one more break, he ended a match with little history.
There are already five Masters 1,000 finals for Rublev, who has a balance of 1-3 in them. His only win was in Monte Carlo last year, when he beat Holger Rune. Before, he fell in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati 2021, and in 2023 he also fell short of the title in Shanghai. At the Caja Mágica, Andrey has recovered his best level after a few difficult months: he arrived in Madrid with four defeats in a row (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Barcelona) and very bad feelings after Dubai, where he was disqualified for obscene language against a judge of line. The Russian smiles again.
“Mentally I have felt much better. I was able to act by putting the emotions in the right direction. It helped me be in the final. Without this I would not be in the final,” said Rublev after his victory, who, despite his status in the ranking, does not feel like a favorite in the final against Lehecka (31st) or Auger-Aliassime (35th). “I don’t see it this way. Felix used to be in the top 10. He didn’t play for a while last year. He is playing better and better now. We played at the beginning of the season and I saved I don’t know how many match points. He almost beat me. In the previous matches he also beat me. Then Lehecka beat me in the last match we played in Indian Wells, he destroyed me in two sets without any chance. I never look at the rankings because I know the guys and how they play. Judging by the tennis ranking does not work,” clarified the finalist.
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Taylor Fritz
vs
Andrey Rublev
Sets:
Set 1
Set 2
Todos
Points won on first serve Points won on second serve Break points converted Points won on first serve Points won on second serve Break points converted Points won on first serve Points won on second serve Break points converted
2024-05-03 16:00:24
#Rublev #overwhelms #Fritz #reach #Masters #final
