World number 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas cruised past Casper Ruud 6-2 6-2 in a one-sided match to reach the final at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi. Tsitsipas will face Andrey Rublev, who beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-2 6-1
Tsitsipas broke Ruud twice in the first and fifth games. The Greek player did not face a break point in the whole match and earned two consecutive breaks in the fifth and seventh games to close out the second set.
“Overall, my game is there. I was able to close off points at the net and rip forehands from time to time. My movement seems to good. I am happy with how I responded to difficult shots, and the serve was good today”, said Tsitsipas.
“Obviously not the result I was looking for but at the same time, I got here after a holiday which was a great to recharge, and this is all part of my practice plan to get ready for Australia. I get to practice with top players and play a couple of matches, so however it goes, I am happy to be here and looking forward to another match tomorrow. Stefanos was just too good and better than me at everything. If he plays like this he is going to be a danger for everyone”, said Ruud.
Tsitsipas set up a final against defending champion Andrey Rublev, who eased past reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz 6-2 6-1.
Rublev beat Andy Murray in last year’s edition of the Mubadala exhibition tournament.
Rublev earned an early break to race to a 3-0 lead in the first set. The Russian player went up a double break in the eighth game to seal the win.
“I was lucky I already played one match and he did not play, so that helped me a lot. You could tell Carlos was not at his best today and has not played much tennis but that is what pre-season is about”, said Rublev.
Both players held their service games at the start of the second set. Rublev broke Alcaraz twice to win five consecutive games and sealed the second set 6-1. Alcaraz was making his return to the court since retiring from the quarter finals in Paris Bercy last November.
“Pre-season started a little bit late for me. I was recovering from my injury and I could not do everything from the beginning. Now I am trying to get ready and it’s all going well. There is still a lot to improve so I need to keep working for the next month”, said Alcaraz.
