Andrey Rublev beat Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 to reach the final at the Shanghai Rolex Masters. Rublev set up a championships match against Hubert Hurkacz.
Rublev advanced to the semifinal without dropping a set this week, but he had to dig deep to beat Dimitrov in the semifinal. Rublev earned the first break in the 11th game to take a 6-5 lead. Dimitrov broke straight back in the 12th game to draw level to 6-6 setting up a tie-break.
Rublev went up a mini-break three times, but Dimitrov pulled back on serve each time to draw level to 6-6. Rublev fended off a set point in the opening set before clinching the set in a tie-break 9-7 after 78 minutes.
Dimitrov earned an early break in the first game of the second set to take a 2-0 lead. Rublev won six of the next seven games including two breaks to reach his fourth Masters 1000 final. “It’s not easy when you win matches against friends, because you feel both sides. You feel sad, but at the same time you feel bot sides. You feel sad, but at the same time you want to win. It’s a mix of feelings”, said Rublev.
