ATP Cincinnati: Andrey Rublev ends miserable run against Daniil Medvedev

In a battle of the 1st and 4th seed, Andrey Rublev took down Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 in two hours and 21 minutes for his second Masters 1000 final of the season. The younger Russian lost 11 straight sets against his friend and compatriot since the start of their rivalry before finding his A-game today in sets two and three to leave Daniil behind and prevent him from securing the first Canada-Cincinnati double since Rafael Nadal in 2013. Rublev won three points more than Medvedev, struggling on the second serve but fending off four out of seven break chances. On the other hand, Daniil could not find his first serve, which led him towards four service games given away, enough to end his run in the semis and propel Andrey through. Both players had more unforced errors than winners, and Rublev forged the triumph in the most extended rallies, taming his strokes nicely and finding a way to overpower world no. 2 from the baseline.

Andrey Rublev defeated Daniil Medvedev in the Cincinnati semi-final.

In the third point of the second set's third game, Medvedev hit the on-court camera and threw it to the ground, furious and determined for the organizers to remove it. He lost momentum in those moments, and Andrey brought it to his side of the court to notch the first victory over his compatriot in five encounters. Medvedev forced Rublev's error at the net to grab a break at 1-1 in the opening set and moved 4-1 up when Andrey sprayed a backhand mistake. Rublev pulled one break back in the next one before getting broken for the third straight time and falling 5-2 down.

Serving for the set, Daniil held at love with a service winner for the strongest start and a good position ahead of set number two. Despite that camera incident at the beginning of the second set, they both served well until game eight, when Medvedev faced five break points. Andrey converted his last chance to forge the lead, fended off two break opportunities at 5-3 and closed the set with a forehand winner to force a decider. Carried by this boost, Rublev barely lost a point behind the initial shot and patiently awaited a chance on the return. After the fifth game, Daniil received the medical timeout on his right hand and got broken at 3-3 to push the rival in front. Andrey landed a beautiful winner to cement the lead in game eight and produced another break a few minutes later for his second Masters 1000 final after Monte Carlo in April.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3z3hfFY