Monte Carlo 2023: Holger Rune vs Andrey Rublev Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters final match featuring Holger Rune vs Andrey Rublev on Sunday, April 16, 2023.

Rune vs Rublev Match Preview and Prediction

Will Holger Rune claim a second Masters title after his epic in the semis? Will Andrey Rublev win his first-ever Masters title and assert himself as someone to beat this clay court season? This will be an interesting one, where we have two stars both in amazing form clashing for the all-important title in the south of France. Who will triumph and win their first Masters title at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters?

Holger Rune took down Jannik Sinner in an epic contest, coming from a set behind to book his spot in the final 1-6, 7-5, 7-5. After being blown away in the first set, and losing 3 games after going 5-2 30-0 up in the 2nd set, it felt like Rune was almost out of the tournament. He continued to stay very tough though, forcing a lot of errors off the Sinner backhand and being the much better server. He’ll take on Andrey Rublev for the title, and although Rune is the favorite, Rublev is extremely dangerous and has had success here in the past. Let’s see if Rune can keep up his extremely high level and manage to claim a second Masters title of his career at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Andrey Rublev moves through to his third Masters final, and his second here at the Monte-Carlo Masters. Playing a solid match against Fritz considering the conditions, Rublev was the one dictating play from the baseline, making fewer unforced errors and crushing his forehand. Despite Rublev’s successes this week, he’ll know he has the toughest match of the tournament by far coming up against Holger Rune. Although Rublev finds himself seeded one spot higher, he certainly isn’t the favorite coming into this final. He’ll be very happy that Rune had to play so late due to the rain delays, giving him an edge in terms of how fresh each player will be. However, Rune hasn’t played a ton of tennis this week before his semifinal, so it’s not as if this affects him that much, if anything it may even things out a little. For Rublev to win, he cannot afford to allow Rune to pepper his backhand, instead looking to get first ball forehands and make a lot of first serves. Let’s see if the Russian is ready to claim his first-ever Masters title at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.

Rune vs Rublev Prediction and Pick

Holger Rune and Andrey Rublev have met twice before, with the head to head being split at 1-1. Rune took out Rublev in the Paris Masters last year in two tight sets en route to his maiden Masters title. But Rublev evened the score by winning a fifth-set tiebreak at this year’s Australian Open 11-9, saving match points. Both players have certain things going for them in this matchup, but on a slower surface, Rune can dictate play with his backhand a lot more. Still, Rublev has a solid amount of experience here and I expect him to show up in the final. In the end, though, Rune’s consistency and shotmaking will be too much as he’ll attempt to become the champion of the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.