Andrey Rublev secured a victory against Benoit "The Rebel" Paire in straight quarters 21-8, 14-13, 17-13 and advanced to the UTS final against Grigor "G-Unit" Dimitrov.
The final day of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown clarified the second finalist of the exhibition tournament taking place in Frankfurt this week. This is the sixth edition of the tournament since 2020 and the second one this year, with Wu Yibing being the champion in July in Los Angeles.
A strong newcomer joined the competition this week, world No. 6 Andrey "Rublo" Rublev, the top-ranked player in this edition. However, he began the tournament with a defeat against Diego "El Peque" Schwartzmann.
Two consecutive victories in the following matches against Gael "La Monf" Monfils and Christopher "The Rocket" Eubanks gave him the opportunity to advance to the semifinals and face the usual UTS participant, Frenchman Benoit Paire.
In the match, Rublev started by taking the lead from the beginning, having adapted better to the tournament's rules. He won the first quarter 21-8 while connecting with 100% of his serves. After the first quarter, the Russian commented, "In 24 minutes maybe I go to the locker room and I lose."
Rublev's dominance continued in the next two quarters, although Paire gradually entered the match and challenged his opponent. In the second quarter, Paire had a 13-12 advantage, but ultimately, Rublev secured the last two points to maintain his lead with a score of 14-13.
"He was running like Gael, now I think he needs to go to the hospital," Rublev said. Paire responded, "Who is this guy Rublo? How is it possible to hit the ball this hard?"
The last quarter was again closely contested, but "Rublo" showcased his class and won a tight set by 17-13, securing his place in the final:
"I am happy to be in a final, and that's it. Time is always stressing me. The first match was a bit noisy because it was something new," said Rublev after his win. "Every match I am playing better and better, happy to be in the final."
In the final match, his opponent will be Grigor Dimitrov "G-Unit," who surprised Diego Schwartzmann in the semifinals.
INTO THE UTS FINAL ⚡ Andrey performs another great match winning 3-0 against Benoit Paire and get into his first UTS final 👀 Amazing and entertaining performance 💪🏻 In less than 15 minutes Andrey and Grigor will face each other for a chance to lift the bolt ⚡ 📸1 bhoto. de
