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Andrey Rublev made the most of Holger Rune’s nerves to win a seesaw Monte Carlo final 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on Sunday and finally be rewarded with a Masters title.
The fifth-seeded Rublev stayed composed when it mattered to eventually run down his 19-year-old opponent and claim the most prestigious title of his career.
Rublev, 25, was down 4-1 in the decider but ground his way back into the contest to prevail on his second match point with an ace at a sun-drenched Monte Carlo Country Club.
After clinching the victory, Rublev stood still for a moment to check if the ball was in and then lay on his back for several moments to savor the moment. The sixth-seeded Rune climbed over the net to go over and congratulate him.
“I don’t know what to say. Losing 4-1, 0-30, saving break points. Somehow I did it,” Rublev said. “I was deep inside hoping [that] at least I would have one chance.”
It was Rublev’s third attempt in a Masters final after the Russian player failed at the final hurdle in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati in 2021.
“I remember the previous finals I was not mentally ready, and when I was losing, I was thinking no chance to win anymore and I was mentally going completely down,” Rublev said. “Today I was like ‘OK, if you lose today, at least please believe until the end.'”
Rune, who burst on the scene at last year’s French Open when he reached the quarterfinals, needed nearly three hours to beat Italian Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
Rublev also needed three sets to beat American Taylor Fritz, and fatigue was a factor in Sunday’s showdown.
“I didn’t have much time to recover,” Rune said. “I gave it all. Didn’t have any more in me. I did what I could, and I was very close.”
Rune, the youngest Monte Carlo finalist since Rafael Nadal in 2005, opened a 4-2 lead in the first set on his second break opportunity only for an unforced forehand error to allow Rublev to break right back.
Rublev, however, bowed under pressure in the seventh game as he sent a forehand long to lose his second service game and give Rune the opening set.
After an early exchange of breaks in the second set, Rune netted a routine shot to drop serve again before Rublev held for a 4-2 lead. Rublev then broke to love and leveled the contest on serve as Rune seemed to lose his composure.
But Rune found gravity-defying angles to break first in the decider, moving 3-0 and 4-1 ahead.
Rublev did not surrender, and after breaking in the seventh game, he broke Rune’s serve again as the Danish player received a warning for angrily sending the ball into the crowd in the 11th game.
The crowd jeered Rune, who sarcastically encouraged them to do so. But he double-faulted to give his opponent the chance to serve for victory, and Rublev sealed a 14th career title.
“I was definitely in control in the third set … didn’t manage to close it out,” Rune said. “Just got to see what I did wrong, what I can do better, and move on, because, you know, the most important tournament of the clay season is the French Open.”
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.