Rublev Beats Rune For Monte Carlo Title

April 17, 2023 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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Photo Credit: Manuela Davies/USTA

 

For the first time in his career, Andrey Rublev is an ATP Masters 1000 champion.

The Russian came back to defeat Holger Rune 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday to claim the Rolex Monte Carlo Masters title, a result that left him in tears afterwards.

“I don’t know what to say to be honest. I don’t know. I am just happy, finally,” he said. “I have been struggling so much to win this freaking Masters 1000 tournament. Finally losing 4-1, Love-30, saving break points, thinking there is no chance to win, and somehow I did it.”

Overall, Rublev blasted 33 winners and fought back from 1-4 down in the deciding third set to earn the 13th title of his career and the biggest one to date.

He had previously lost the two Masters 1000 finals he had reached, in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati in 2021.

“I was hoping deep inside that at least maybe I would have one chance,” Rublev said. “Maybe at least try to play until the end. Because I remember the previous finals mentally I was not ready and when I was thinking [I had] no chance to win anymore and I was going mentally completely down. And today I was at least [thinking], ‘Okay, if you’re going to lose today at least please believe until the end’, and that is what I was trying to do in the third set, hoping that maybe I would have one extra chance to come back or something and in the end I was able to do it.”

 


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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