Madrid [Spain], May 4 : A resurgent Andrey Rublev staged a thrilling, commanding semi-final victory over Taylor Fritz, sealing a place in the Madrid Open final on Friday.
With a dominant semifinal performance on Friday, the seventh-seeded player defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 to advance to his fifth Masters 1000 title match. Within 73 minutes in Manolo Santana Stadium, Rublev's rich mix of serve and forehand proved too much for Fritz as he completed an astonishing triumph.
"Mentally I was feeling much better and I was able to perform. Putting emotions in the right direction. For sure it has helped me to reach the final. Without this, I would not be in the final," Rublev said as quoted by ATP.
Rublev had lost four straight tour-level matches prior to arriving in Madrid, but the victory extended his incredible comeback to form. In Sunday's final, he will compete against either Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jiri Lehecka in an attempt to win his second ATP Tour title of the year.
"I started really tight. I missed a couple of returns, a couple of easy shots, but it is part of sport and part of tennis. When he broke me, I thought, 'OK, it is only the beginning, we have a long set and we will see. Maybe he will also not start well on his serve,'" Rublev said.
"In the end, I think in the first three points he didn't hit a first serve, so I was able to win and it was 0/30. On one break point I played well, and somehow it was 1-1. Then the match was equal until the end of the set," the seventh seed added.
Rublev's semifinal victory turned out very differently than it had started. In the first game, Fritz broke the eighth-ranked player in the PIF ATP Rankings, converting his first break point to set up a flawless start to his second clay-court Masters 1000 semifinal. But before the American could capitalize, Rublev quickly recovered the break by focusing on his opponent's second serves.
Rublev was under pressure on service in the first game of the second set, but he sealed the first set by breaking to love in the tenth game. But this time, he held for 1-0 by saving both break points he faced. In the sixth game, he then decisively broke Fritz to complete his victory.
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