ATP Masters Monte Carlo: Andrey Rublev fixes dream quarter-finals against Rafael Nadal
Andrey Rublev is in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monte Carlo after a narrow three-set win over Roberto Bautista Agut. In this, the Russian meets the clay court king Rafael Nadal .
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: Apr 15, 2021, 08:07 pm
Before the start of the tournament, the organizers of the ATP Masters 1000 event in Monte Carlo were able to hope for two highly spectacular quarter-finals: According to the seeding list, a duel between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev was waiting for the audience in front of the television sets in the top part of the table, in the last quarter should If the tournament goes "normally", there will be an encounter between Rafael Nadal and Andrey Rublev.
But as is usual in sport, things turned out differently in the Principality - at least in part. After Djokovic and Zverev's round of 16 defeats, it is not the Serbian and the German, but Dan Evans and David Goffin who meet in the round of the last eight. Nadal and Rublev, on the other hand, made it to the quarter-finals and will probably offer the finest clay court tennis on Friday.
Fognini and Ruud also continue
Nothing else can be expected after the performances shown so far in Monte Carlo. The Spanish clay court king gave up only five games in his previous two matches against Federico Delbonis and Grigor Dimitrov , his Russian opponent had to fight a lot more at least in the round of 16 despite a great performance.
Because Roberto Bautista Agut demanded everything from the world number one before Rublev's 7: 6 (2), 5: 7 and 6: 3 success after 2:44 hours was certain. In view of the high physical strain, the 23-year-old should be happy that the dream quarter-finals against Nadal on Friday will be the fourth and last game of the day after 11:00 a.m.
Pablo Carreno Busta and Casper Ruud fought an even greater battle of wear and tear than Rublev and Bautista Agut. And as on the largest square in the facility, the Iberians also lost out on the Court des Princes: Ruud secured the 7: 6 (4), 5: 7 and 7: 5 victory after defending two match points and almost three hours of playing time. In the quarter-finals he now faces Fabio Fognini, who beat Filip Krajinovic in two sets.
Here the single tableau in Monte Carlo
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