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ATP Belgrade: Andrey Rublev wins - Djokovic runs out of breath in the end

Andrey Rublev (ATP No. 8) won the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade. In the final he beat Novak Djokovic 6: 2, 6: 7 (4) and 6: 0.

by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Apr 24, 2022, 05:10 pm

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Andrey Rublev
© Getty Images
Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev won his eleventh title at the ATP tournament in Belgrade - against a Novak Djokovic who ultimately had no energy. No wonder: The “Djoker” had to turn three matches over the course of the week after losing the first round and, as a tournament star in his home country, probably also had a lot on his plate outside of the field. /

It almost looked as if Djokovic was going to make the big comeback again: After clearly losing the first round, Djokovic got the early break in the second set, which he gave back immediately, but in the tie-break he made the set equal.

Djokovic was also briefly ahead in the third set, but was unable to use a 15:40 in Rublev's first service game. From then on, only the man from Russia played, who ended up not letting Djokovic play.

Djokovic on the pitch for more than three hours

While Djokovic had to fight around 7 hours and 40 minutes in his three matches on the way to the final, Rublev only had around 4 hours and 25 minutes - a big difference in terms of power reserves, even for the otherwise tireless Djokovic.

He can still travel on from Belgrade with his head held high: Djokovic had always ended early in his previous two tournaments in Dubai and Monte Carlo, and he had missed the start of the year in Australia after his entry/vaccination drama.

Djokovic to Rublev: "Please come back"

In addition to his eleventh title, Rublev has a premiere to celebrate: The win against Djokovic was his first against a reigning world number one. He has also completed the "Big 3" package and won at least once in his career against Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.

Djokovic is already trying to acquire players for the coming year - after all, his family is in charge of the tournament (brother Djordje led the award ceremony). "Congratulations, you're a great champion and a great guy," he said to Rublev. "Belgrade and Serbs love you. So please come back to defend your title."

by Florian Goosmann

Sunday
Apr 24, 2022, 05:06 pm
last edit: Apr 24, 2022, 05:10 pm