[6] A. Rublev b. [2] S. Tsitsipas 3-6 6-3 6-2
In the dark blue lights of the PalaAlpitour in Turin, Rublev and Tsitsipas played each other in a quarterfinal of the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. To the utmost delight of traditionalist tennis fans, the logarithmic calculations that sometimes are needed to find out who is advancing to the semifinals in this one-of-a-kind tournament were not needed and the clash between the red-haired Russian and dark-eyed Greek was the usual win-or-go-home affair of all the other tournaments played throughout the year.
The comeback with that Rublev was able to stage to mark his first career semifinal in the end-of-year Championships was somewhat surprising to anyone who had just seen the first set and then switched the TV set to a different channel. Tsitsipas had started the match in an ideal way, very focused and in charge of the baseline rallies. He quickly set off to an early lead obtaining the first break of the match on the fourth game coming back from a 40-0 deficit and converting the second break point of an 18-point game.
Tsitsipas has more variety, more touch, more swagger than Rublev, and also more experience at the top level of the game, since he won the Nitto ATP Finals in 2019 and reached the Roland Garros final in 2021. He also has more vocal parents, who did not stop talking to him from his “corner” throughout the entire match, to the point that in the third set he ended up shooting a ball at them before serving.
The Greek quickly wrapped up the first set capitalizing on that early break, but he could not keep up the intensity of his game, and he progressively shortened his shots allowing Rublev to enter into the match. After 68 minutes the Russian tied the fight at one set all, and began the decisive set leading the rallies, almost as if the roles had swapped compared to just an hour earlier.
With his forehand as erratic as ever, Tsitsipas found himself with two break points to face at 1-1, in a flash he was down 1-3 and at 2-4, he finally surrendered with two double faults to give Rublev a decisive double-break advantage.
The turning point during the third set was the moment Tsitsipas flipped against his parents, guilty of talking to him non-stop from their courtside box. Apostolos Tsitsipas, Stefanos’ father, has a very tense moment with his wife Julia Salnikova, just before his son showed his displeasure towards him on court. From that moment onwards the confident and focused player that started the match was just a pale memory, and Stefanos slowly dwindled towards a melancholic end to a sub-par season.
Rublev will face Casper Ruud in the semifinals on Saturday: he leads 4-1 in head-to-head matches against the Norwegian world no. 4, losing only their last encounter 12 months ago in Turin at the ATP finals 7-6 in the third set.
