It was the night of one of the quarters of the Cincinnati Masters 2021 and fans witnessed an epic encounter. In an exciting clash, Andrey Rublev defeated Benoit Paire in three sets to book his place in the semis of the Masters tournament. The final scoreline of the match was 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

Set-1: Andrey Rublev takes the early lead

Andrey Rublev got off to a great start as he broke in the very first game and then won the subsequent game to establish a 2-0 lead over Benoit Paire. Even though Paire tried to fight back he could not level the scoreline at any point in the set.

The Russian broke yet again in the seventh game and took his lead to 5-2. He didn’t take long after this and won the set 6-2 on his first set-point in just 20 minutes.

Interestingly, Paire failed to earn even a single break-point in the entire set.

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Set-2: Benoit Paire makes an incredible comeback

Paire didn’t make the same mistake again and comfortably won the first game this time. However, World No.7 Rublev equalized the scoreline at 1-1 in the next game.

Paire didn’t lose his momentum and broke in the fourth game to take his lead to 3-1. Intriguingly, he even won the following game and was now comfortably leading 4-1 at the end of the fifth game. Even though Rublev tried to fight back, he failed to break back.

The Russian saved two set-points in the eighth game but Paire finally won the match on his fourth set-point in the ninth game. As a result, he made the set scoreline 1-1 after winning the second set 6-3.

Set-3:  Rublev seals the decider

Both the player continued from where they left and dominated on their service games. As a result, the scoreline soon reached 2-2. It was the sixth game where Rublev showed some great character and earned four break-points. However, the Frenchman saved all of them and equalized the scoreline at 3-3.

Rublev once again took the lead as he won the the seventh game. He didn’t repeat the same mistake this time and with the help of a beautiful forehand, broke for the first time in the set to widen the margin of his lead at 5-3.

Serving for the set, Rublev didn’t take long and ended the match in the following game. He conquered the set 6-3, and thus, won the match.

Also Read: “I Was Not Enjoying Playing Tennis”: Benoit Paire Opens Up on His Struggles During Covid-19 Pandemic