Rublev reaches Monte Carlo final again; Sinner faces Rune
MONACO (AP) — Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev reached the Monte Carlo Masters final for the second time after rallying to beat eighth-seeded American Taylor Fritz 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 in a rain-interrupted contest on Saturday.
The Russian player, who lost in the final two years ago, goes for his 13th career title and first at Masters level against either sixth-seeded Dane Holger Rune or No. 7 Jannik Sinner of Italy.
They played later Saturday, with the 21-year-old Sinner competing in his third straight Masters semi this season.
Under cloudy skies, Rublev leveled the match on his fourth set point when Fritz, the French Open junior runner-up in 2015, double-faulted for the fifth time.
He broke Rublev to lead 2-1 in the deciding set but trailed 15-40 in the next game.
Fritz won a 40-stroke rally to save one break point, but Rublev let out a roar after a stinging backhand down the line won the next point as he broke straight back. He then held for 3-2 as the rain started falling more heavily.
The chair umpire wanted to continue at first, but both players were reluctant and play was suspended at around 4 p.m., before resuming under clearing skies at 5:40 p.m.
Rublev broke serve immediately in windy conditions, winning a 34-stroke rally when his backhand from Fritz’s drop shot landed just in, and then holding easily for 5-2.
Serving to stay in the match, Fritz saved three match points. But Rublev won with a love hold on serve, clinching victory with a crisp forehand winner that wrong-footed Fritz.
The 25-year-olds, who are friends, shared a warm hug at the net.
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