Bitter Montecarlo for Sinner, Rune goes to the final

The final of the Montecarlo tournament, the third masters 1000 of the season, will be between Andrey Rublev and Holger Rune. The dream of Jannik Sinner stopped in the semifinals, beaten by the Dane in three sets, 1-6, 7-5 7-5 after almost three hours of play including the 50-minute break due to the rain that characterized Saturday in Monaco. The Dane defeated Sinner for the second time in two direct matches even if on the first occasion the South Tyrolean withdrew due to an ankle injury in Sofia in October. Thus the victories against Top 10 become 11, four of which obtained on clay. Always victorious in the two semifinals played at Masters 1000 level, Rune is the first teenager in the final in Monte Carlo since 2006. At the time, a 19-year-old Rafa Nadal overcame Roger Federer and took the title. The match between Sinner and Rune is an incredible battle in which the 19-year-old from Gentofte got the upper hand, going out at distance after a first set dominated by the blue who then had difficulty in serving and made many mistakes. Sinner borders on perfection and closes the first set with a score of 6-1 in just 30 minutes of play. Performance of the highest level up to this moment by the blue who has put Rune in difficulty with deep and poisonous trajectories in return, as well as very high percentages on serve (86% of points won with the first and 50% with the second without conceding break points ). In the second set the protagonist is the weather.

Between a few drops of rain, strong wind and a shy ray of sunshine, Rune manages to keep the serve in the opening set, interrupting a series of five consecutive lost games. The Dane closes at 30 with an excellent serve and straight on a second. Rune takes it 3-0 while Sinner struggles. It’s raining but the field seems to hold then the match is suspended. After a 50-minute break, it starts again with Sinner who seems to have a different gear. The set seemed to be reopened for Sinner, but the blue lost his serve one step away from the tie break and allowed Rune to close the set after 67 minutes of play. The match has completely changed from a tactical point of view. In addition to great defense, Rune manages to pick up the pace and be consistent with hitting. Many mistakes, however, for Sinner who went to alternating current in the second set and Rune closes it 7-5 in favor of him. The third set is heart pounding, with Rune going fast in his rounds of service and Sinner having to save too many break points. Only his mental strength makes him arrive unscathed until 5-5. The Dane concedes nothing and closes once again 7-5 and hitting the final goal where tomorrow he will find Andrey Rublev. The Russian beat Taylor Fritz 5-7 6-1 6-3 on a rainy afternoon after 2 hours and 7 minutes of play. For Rublev it will be the third career final in the Masters 1000, the second in Monte Carlo after the one in 2021 in which he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas.

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