Tsitsipas earns maiden ATP Masters title in Monte-Carlo at Rublev’s expense

Sports Desk, Apr 18 (EFE).- Stefanos Tsitsipas on Sunday claimed his maiden ATP Master title as he took advantage of Andrey Rublev’s struggle on serve to seal a 6-3, 6-3 win in the Monte-Carlo final.

Tsitsipas was untouchable on serve and relentless on return as his third Masters final proved to be a charm, having fallen short at the 2018 Rogers Cup and the 2019 Madrid Open to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic respectively.

With the Spaniard knocked out of the tournament at Rublev’s hands in the quarterfinals, and Djokovic sent home in the third round, Tsitsipas was in no mood to squander this chance against a Masters final rookie.

And he made his intention crystal clear from the beginning of the match, putting pressure on his Russian opponent, who overshot a forehand to set up the Greek for the first break point.

Rublev sent a forehand onto the net to hand Tsitsipas a service break for a 2-0 lead.

As the minutes ticked away, the Russian slightly improved on serve, but the damage was already done and Tsitsipas made sure that Rublev had no chance as he sealed the first set after 32 minutes of play.

Rublev paid for a poor service game that saw him put as little as 46 percent of his first service in play and win 46 percent of the second delivery.

The Greek player’s good performance on return (winning 20 percent and 67 percent of the first and second service points respectively) continued in the second set, earning him an early 2-1 lead.

Tsitsipas, whose serve was not in danger at any moment of the 71-minute match, went on to grab another and decisive break in the ninth game in which the Russian win only one point.

The 22-year-old became the first Greek player to win an ATP Masters title, to increase his silverware tally to six including the 2019 ATP Finals.