Ultimate Tennis Showdown London Grand Final Round-Up | Rublev dominates double-session chaos as semifinals locked in

The second day of competition concluded, defining the four semifinalists of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) after a double match day at the London Grand Final. Players took to the court in two different sessions during the day, determining the final results of each group, with Andrey Rublev emerging as the big winner.

The Russian player was the first to secure his qualification for the exhibition tournament’s semifinals after signing consecutive victories against Alex de Minaur and Adrian Mannarino. Meanwhile, in Group B, a three-way tie in wins occurred among Ugo Humbert, Casper Ruud, and Francisco Cerúndolo, with the Argentine being eliminated due to a lower overall quarters differential.

The day was divided into a double session, with each player taking the court for two matches—one in the morning and one in the afternoon—setting the stage for the semifinals and final on Sunday. In the morning, Tomas Machac secured a tight win against Adrian Mannarino (No. 69) in Sudden Death: 16-11, 14-11, 13-17, 11-13, [2-0]. Both players were coming off tough losses on Day 1, and the Czech managed to reignite his hopes of advancing.

The second duel determined the group leader between Alex de Minaur (No. 7) and Andrey Rublev (No. 15), both of whom had won on the first day. The winner would virtually guarantee a spot in the semifinals. After a tight start, Rublev took the lead in the first quarter, and De Minaur responded with a significant lead in the second. However, the Australian lost control of the match, and Rublev closed out the victory 13-12, 8-18, 16-12, 13-12. He was well positioned for the semifinals but still needed to ratify his position in the afternoon.

It was also the turn of Casper Ruud (No. 12) to secure the most impressive victory of the tournament so far against David Goffin (No. 119) with a dominant score of 14-9, 16-7, 17-9. The Norwegian's wide margin of victory over his rival allowed him to take the lead in the group—having started Day 1 with a loss in Sudden Death against Cerúndolo.

The second match in the group was between the winners of the first day: Ugo Humbert (No. 37) against Francisco Cerúndolo (No. 21). In a match where the Argentine seemed favored—especially given his winning streak from the previous UTS—"The Commander" took control from the start and had no major difficulties overcoming the Argentine 16-10, 14-12, 11-18, 16-9. Humbert was another name in a strong position to advance to the semifinals, though he still needed a good result in the afternoon to confirm his qualification.

Doubts remained about who would join the semifinals, and everyone entered the afternoon session with live possibilities. First up was Andrey Rublev against Adrian Mannarino, a match where the Frenchman seemed likely to secure a comfortable win—which would have kept his hopes of advancing alive. However, "Rublo" fought back from two quarters down to force Sudden Death and claim the victory: 12-17, 11-13, 18-11, 18-12. He thus secured his passage to the semifinals as group leader with three wins in a row.

In the match between Alex de Minaur and Tomas Machac, the final player to qualify from the group, joining Rublev in the semifinals, was determined. The Australian initially took a lead in the first set up to 6-4, but Macháč secured eight consecutive points to pull ahead and then took the first set 15-10. However, the Aussie World No. 7 fought back in the match and dominated from that point on. He took three consecutive sets and secured the win 10-15, 15-12, 16-13, 16-12, guaranteeing his spot in the semifinals.

Francisco Cerúndolo arrived with the obligation to win against Belgium's Goffin by the largest possible margin if he wanted to keep his hopes of advancing alive. He showed this determination from the start, taking a straightforward victory against Goffin, who failed to challenge any of his opponents throughout the tournament. The Argentine took the win in straight quarters: 19-8, 15-12, 18-7, finishing his participation in the group stage while awaiting the result that would close the group hours later between Humbert and Ruud.

The Norwegian and the Frenchman were battling not only for the group lead, but the loser would still maintain possibilities of advancing—though it would depend on the difference in points and quarters achieved by each player. Ruud started by taking the lead by the slightest of margins in the first quarter (13-12), but lost control of the match in the subsequent quarters. The 3-time Major finalist managed to recover from two quarters down to force Sudden Death, where he proved stronger by starting with his serve and taking the victory: 13-12, 8-16, 8-15, 14-12, [2-0].

The result was nevertheless sufficient for Humbert, who advanced as group leader thanks to his superior quarters and points differential. Ruud—by defeating Humbert—ended up eliminating Cerúndolo (despite having been defeated by the Argentine on Day 1), finishing the round robin with a quarter average of +3, just above the South American's +2.

• Ugo Humbert (#1 Group B) vs Alex De Minaur (#2 Group A)

• Andrey Rublev (#1 Group A) vs Casper Ruud (#2 Group B)