The Miami Open that happened a month ago witnessed the rise of a young champion in the form of Hubert Hurkacz. Fast forward a few weeks and a new champion is set to be crowned at the ongoing Monte Carlo Masters, as Andrey Rublev will face Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final.

Rublev, who stunned the tennis world by defeating the 11-time Monte Carlo Masters champion Rafael Nadal, has breezed into the final with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud in the semi-finals, 6-3,7-5.

Andrey Rublev’s incredible form gives him an advantage against Stefanos Tsitsipas

The Russian had an incredible run on tour last year as he won five titles and achieved a career-high ranking of 8th in the world. He has maintained the same consistency this year as well; he’s reached at least the quarter-finals in all the tournaments he appeared in.

On the other hand, Stefanos Tsitsipas had a comfortable run at the Monte Carlo Masters this year. His most notable opponents were Aslan Karatsev, Cristian Garin, and his quarter-final match against Davidovich Fokina ended in a walk-over. The Greek will be physically more relaxed going into the final in comparison to Andrey Rublev.

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But Rublev has proved that he can beat any player on clay with his powerful groundstrokes and will enter the final as the favorite.

Nothing between the head-to-head record of Rublev and Tsitsipas

Interestingly, the head-to-head record between the two players is level at 3-3. Out of the six times they played against each other, two matches took place on the red turf. Rublev won the Hamburg Open final last year against Tsitsipas, and the latter won their quarter-final clash at Roland Garros 2020.

With both players exhibiting different playing styles, it will be interesting to see who has the upper hand. Rublev’s hard-hitting forehands will be a worrying issue for Tsitsipas, and the Greek’s ability to ease through his service games will trouble Rublev.

Rublev can hit the ball with much more fierce power than Tsitsipas, but holding the service might be a problem for the Russian. He’s proved vulnerable on serve before, and the same might haunt him tomorrow against the quality of Stefanos. But the performances of both the players in return games are almost similar.

On the red turf, the two managed to win 27% of their return games, and this statistic proves that breakpoint opportunities will be tough to convert for either player tomorrow. Even though longer rallies are expected, both the players will aim to gain several points from hitting winners, especially on the forehand wing.

While it’s Tsitsipas who looks physically fitter than Rublev, it is the latter who enters the final with the confidence of beating clay-court experts like Rafael Nadal and Roberto Bautista Agut.

Final Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win in three sets.

Andrey Rublev Overtakes Roger Federer in ATP Rankings After Reaching Monte-Carlo Masters 2021 Finals