This time, Andrey Rublev will be there for the semi-finals. The Russian, who came out of the group stage of the Masters during his first appearances in 2020 and 2021, won his decisive match against Stefanos Tsitsipas to climb into the last four in Turin. Everything was not clear for him in this meeting, but he managed to turn the situation around to win in three sets (3-6, 6-3, 6-2). He will face Casper Ruud on Saturday for a place in the final.
The world No. 7 was badly engaged in this duel between a balanced racket from the fifth game, gestures of humor and a first set conceded in just over 30 minutes. Not satisfied with his level of play and annoyed by his mistakes, he was also playing against an impeccable and precise opponent (zero unforced errors in the first act) and not much seemed to be going in his favor after a first set that he was never able to win.
Tsitsipas lost his foot
But the Russian hung on and, by dint of insisting with his increasingly lightning forehand, gained ground and nibbled at the opposing brain. His first break at the end of the second act was a release and he began to miss fewer and fewer balls (12 faults in the first set, 23 in all). Opposite, Tsitsipas lost his footing and off-centered a few shots that hurt his head.
At one set everywhere, Rublev did not let go of his prey and very quickly made the difference in the last round (break at 1-1). In the stands, the Tsitsipas parents never stopped giving voice, to the point of apparently annoying the son who could no longer find solutions. Two double faults condemned him definitively at the end of the game since he once again yielded his service in a game also marked by a magnificent passing at the end of the race from the Russian.