By Richard Pagliaro | @Tennis_Now | Friday, May 3, 2024
Andrey Rublev stopped Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3, racing into his 25th career final, including his fifth Masters 1000 final, at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Photo credit: Julian Finney/Getty
Madrid in May is Andrey Rublev’s time to shine.
The 2023 Madrid doubles champion Rublev was double trouble for Taylor Fritz today.
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Dictating off both serve and return, Rublev topped Fritz 6-4, 6-3 to advance to his 25th career final at the Mutua Madrid Open today.
"Of course I'm really happy," Rublev told the media in Madrid. "I'm happy to be in the final of Madrid for the first time. I don't know. I didn't expect that.
"I'm really happy, because it was one of the tournaments that I would like to go deep, especially I had great memories from Davis Cup here, and now I'm in a final. So I'm happy."
The eighth-ranked Rublev, the highest-ranked man still standing in the draw, backed up his quarterfinal upset of two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz with command today. Rublev served 75 percent and won 83 percent of his first-serve points compared to Fritz, who served 55 percent and won 69 percent of his first-serve points. Rublev broke Fritz three times in an assertive 72-minute win.
"Obviously I could have played a lot better today," Fritz said. "I think a lot of credit to Andrey. He served really well. Made lots of first serves. Good spots, too. He pulled me off the court and then kind of just go open court the next ball.
"I don't know. I think, yeah, playing in Madrid suits my game well, but I also think that my game feels even better when I was playing on, I guess, Arantxa Sanchez and Stadium 3. I feel for sure it's faster in there, it's bouncing higher in there. Center court is definitely slower and just pretty slippery, as well, I thought."
Rublev reached his fifth career Masters 1000 final and will play for his second career 1000 championship on Sunday when he faces either world No. 35 Felix Auger-Aliassime or 30th-seeded Czech Jiri Lehecka in the Madrid final.
Recalling his 6-4, 6-4 to Lehecka in Indian Wells last March, Rublev said the Czech "destroyed me in Indian Wells" before offering perspective on Auger-Aliassime.
"Felix, the same thing," Rublev said. "All our matches that we played was always drama, always three-sets matches. Very close. The last one we played Rotterdam, I don't know how many match points I saved. Both of them are tough."
A resurgent Rublev scored his ninth win in his last 10 matches against Top 20 opponents on dirt.
Apart from a nervy first game that saw him surrender serve and toss his racquet in the dirt, Rublev was in fine form today beating Fritz for the fourth time in nine meetings.
Bidding to become the first American to advance to a clay-court ATP Masters 1000 final since Andre Agassi at 2002 Rome, Fritz played a solid match. The Munich finalist fired seven aces against no double faults, drew first-break blood and defended his second serve better. But Rublev’s relentless return game—he twice earned love-40 leads on Fritz’s serve and pasted the baseline with several returns—put too much pressure on the former Indian Wells champion.
In a jittery seven-minute opening game, Rublev double faulted twice, bounced his Head racquet off the red dirt once and sprayed a forehand to gift the break to Fritz.
An annoyed Rublev calmed down, broke back and won eight of 11 points to go up 2-1.
Midway through the set both men found their grooves on serve and were holding serve with authority.
The 2023 Monte-Carlo champion made his move in the 10th game.
Rublev rapped a crackling forehand that left a lunging Fritz without adequate answer for triple-set point.
Stalking a second serve, Rublev was two steps inside the baseline when he banged a backhand return that rattled out an error for the love break to snatch a one-set lead. Rublev ran off eight straight points in sealing the set.
The seventh seed saved a pair of break points to start the second set.
Fritz showed his sportsmanship, conceding a Rublev drive off the back of the baseline, which put him down love-30 in the sixth game. Handcuffed by a funky bounce off a return, Fritz netted his reply to face another triple break point chasm in the sixth game.
Though Fritz fought off the first two break points, Rublev sent the American scurrying into the corner chasing a forehand. From the baseline, Rublev hammered a bounce smash off the top of his frame that licked the line. That bold shot gave Rublev the break and a one-set 4-2 lead.
Delray Beach champion Fritz typically prefers to hug the baseline a bit on faster surfaces. During this clay season, Fritz believes adopting deeper court positioning has been a key to his success.
When he tried stepping in on forehand exchanges today, Rublev often beat him to the punch with his fierce forehand.
"On clay I don't mind playing further back," Fritz said. "I can move much better on clay when I'm further back. I have more time to kind of get going.
"But, yeah, I think I have just kind of found things that worked for me on clay, giving myself more time with my forehand, trying to dictate points more with my forehand. I think that's probably just been the biggest change throughout the years.
"I think on clay sometimes I can find myself getting a little too close to the baseline, and then it gets really tough to play defense, which on a hard court I don't mind."
The 26-year-old Rublev closed in 72 minutes and will play for his 16th career championship on Sunday.