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Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Monte Carlo Masters – Monte-Carlo Country Club, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France – April 17, 2021 Russia’s Andrey Rublev reacts during his semi final match against Norway’s Casper Ruud REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Reuters
Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Monte Carlo Masters – Monte-Carlo Country Club, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France – April 17, 2021 Russia’s Andrey Rublev reacts during his semi final match against Norway’s Casper Ruud REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev was up against Georgian player Nikoloz Basilashvili in the semifinal of the ATP Halle 2021. Both these athletes are familiar with each other as they have played four times in the past.
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The tie was well in the balance as both players have won two matches each. Today, it was the Russian that came on top, winning the match 6-1 3-6 6-3 in close to two hours.
Set 1: Andrey Rublev too good for the Georgian
As the set began, Andrey Rublev was on the offense and took the game to his opponent. He broke his opponent twice and was sitting comfortably on a healthy lead.
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Tennis – ATP Masters 1000 – Italian Open – Foro Italico, Rome, Italy – May 15, 2021 Russia’s Andrey Rublev in action during his quarter final match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego REUTERS/Guglielmo Mangiapane
The Russian managed to win 78% of his second serve points, whereas Nikoloz Basilashvili won just 31% of his second serve points. In the end, the second serve made the difference and Andrey capitalized on the situation.
Set 2: Nikoloz Basilashvili bounces back and arrives at the party
In the following set, the Georgian player raised his level and served with real intent. As compared to the previous set, he did not give his opponent a glimpse of seeing a breakpoint.
In the end, the one break was enough to help him seal to set and send the match into the final deciding set. During the set, the Georgian athlete won 31 points whereas the Russian won 26 points.
Set 3: Andrey Rublev finds a way to seal the deal
In the final set, Rublev had to shrug off the result of the previous set. He began to strike the ball more accurately as he did in the opening stages of the match. In the sixth game, the Russian got a chance and seized the opportunity to break his opponent. He was now sitting strong with a 4-2 lead.
Just another ATP500 final for @AndreyRublev97 🔥
— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 19, 2021
Rublev 6-1 3-6 6-3 Basilashvili. #NoventiOpen pic.twitter.com/m5PEFRYgUj
As the eighth game began, Basilashvili was serving to stay in the match and he was clearly feeling the pressure. However, he held his serve and forced the Russian to serve it out. In the end, the Russian prevailed and won the set 6-3.
Andrey Rublev will now face the winner of the match between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Ugo Humbert which will be played on Sunday.
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