The Russian Andrey Rublev, fifth seed, is the first semifinalist of the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters 1000, beating the German Jan-Lebbard Struff this Friday, 6-1, 7-6 (5), in 1 hour and 40 minutes. Rublev (n.6 ATP) adds his fourth win over Struff (n.100), who had only prevailed in the previous confrontation between the two, at Roland Garros 2021.
On this occasion, on the land of Monte Carlo, the game was completely dominated by Rublev, who nevertheless began by giving up his serve. He reacted witheringly, scoring the next seven games, giving him the first set and taking the lead in the second.
The second set continued to see Struff uncomfortable with his serve, making five direct points but just as many double faults, as well as failing to go above 39 per cent with his first. But Rublev’s percentages with the rest dropped, especially on second serves, and this kept the score level. So much so that both exchanged a break (seventh and eighth games), to take the decision of the set to the decisive thirteenth. There, the Russian sentenced in what was his second match ball.
In the semifinals, Rublev is already waiting for the winner of the duel between the Greek Stéfanos Tsitsipás, number 2 in the tournament but now the main favorite after falling in the round of 16 against the Serbian Novak Djokovic, and the American Taylor Fritz. It will be Rublev’s second presence in a semifinal in Monte Carlo, where he already stood in 2021, when he later fell in the final against Tsitsipás.
At 1:00 p.m. the second quarterfinal meeting between the American Taylor Fritz and the Greek Stéfanos Tsitsipás began. The two remaining matches will face the Russian Daniil Medvedev, recent champion of the Miami tournament, and the Danish Holger Rune (3:00 p.m.), and the Italians Lorenzo Musetti and Jannik Sinner (4:20 p.m.).
