TennisSection previews the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters as Andrey Rublev (6) meets Casper Ruud in the Semi-Finals on Saturday April 17th, 2021.
A very surprising Semi-Final matchup awaits us in the Semi-Finals of the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco. Sixth seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia will face Norwegian Casper Ruud in a Semi-Final that no-one would have predicted, but they are both fully deserving of being here. Both men have been outstanding this week so far, who will win and advance to their first career Masters-1000 Final?
Andrey Rublev is currently ranked #8 in the ATP world rankings and has been in fantastic form for the better part of the last two years. After dominating the ATP-500 events, he is finally making his mark on the larger and more prestigious Masters-1000 events. The Russian star defeated Rafael Nadal in the Quarter-Finals here at the 2021 Monte Carlo Open, becoming only the fifth player to ever do so here in Monte-Carlo, an event that the Spaniard has dominated. Rublev was in total command for the majority of the first two sets, however he let Nadal back into the match and it went into a third set. How the Russian kept his composure to cruise through that set was impressive to watch, and he will certainly be the overwhelming favorite to win here over Casper Ruud.
Casper Ruud is ranked #27 in the world, and has established himself as one of the better clay court players on the ATP Tour. After a solid start to the year, his season was affected by injuries and he is only now beginning to get back to his best. He has been very impressive here at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters, defeating Diego Schwartzman and Pablo Carreno-Busta, before dominating former champion Fabio Fognini in straight sets to reach his first Masters-1000 Semi-Final. While he enters this match as the massive underdog, his elite movement and aggressive baseline play are sure to pose a stern test to Andrey Rublev, and it will be interesting to see how Ruud handles the pressure here.
This will be the fourth meeting between the two players on the ATP Tour, with Andrey Rublev leading the head to head series 3-0. The Russian has dominated this rivalry, and this match is expected to be no different. While Casper Ruud has been impressive here and definitely is a tough opponent on this surface, Rublev is in sublime form at the moment, and it seems like nothing can stand in the way of him claiming his first Masters-1000 title. I expect Ruud to put up tough resistance, but the Russian will wear him down with his power hitting and will win this match. Andrey Rublev will advance to the Final here at the 2021 Monte-Carlo Masters, and has his eyes firmly on the title here in Monaco.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Andrey Rublev to win
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