Andrey Rublev wins first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo

MONTE CARLO – Russia’s Andrey Rublev was left in happy tears after he fought back against Denmark’s Holger Rune in Monte Carlo to win his first Masters 1000 title on Sunday.

The fifth seed came back from 4-1 down in the deciding set to defeat sixth-seeded teenager Rune 5-7, 6-2, 7-5.

“I have tears,” Rublev said.

“I don’t know what to say. I am so happy. I have been struggling so much to win a Masters 1000 tournament. Trailing 1-4, 0-30, then saving break points, thinking there is no chance to win. But somehow I did it.

“I was hoping deep inside that I would have one chance. Play until the end. I remember the previous finals and when I was losing I thought I’d have no chance and mentally I was going down.

“But today I thought, ‘just believe until the end’, and this is what I was trying to do in the third set, hoping I would have an extra chance to come back and what a way to do it.”

It was his 18th tour-level win of the season and the Russian improved to 1-2 in Masters 1000 finals. He previously lost against Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte Carlo and Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati in 2021.

Deprived of his national flag after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the player from Moscow thanked the crowd for their support.

“Coming from the country where I come from, to receive such international support, it is enormous,” the 25-year-old said.

Rune, 19, was aiming for his second Masters 1000 title after defeating five top-10 players en route to the title in Paris in 2022.

The Dane, who burst into the limelight at the 2022 French Open when he reached the quarter-finals, needed nearly three hours to beat Italian Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals.

Rublev also needed three sets to beat American Taylor Fritz, and fatigue was a factor in Sunday’s showdown.

Rune, the youngest Monte Carlo finalist after Rafael Nadal in 2005, opened a 4-2 lead in the first set on his second opportunity to break, only for an unforced forehand error to allow Rublev to break right back.

The Russian, however, bowed under pressure in the seventh game as he sent a forehand long to lose his second service game and give Rune the opening set.

After an early exchange of breaks, Rune netted a routine shot to drop serve again before Rublev held for 4-2 in the second set. The Russian then broke to love and levelled the contest on serve as Rune seemed to lose his composure.

The Dane, however, found gravity-defying angles to break first in the decider, moving 3-0 and 4-1 ahead.

But Rublev worked his way back. At 5-5, Rune double-faulted at 40-30 down to hand a decisive break to Rublev, who closed out on serve, sparking the waterworks.
AFP, REUTERS