Andrey Rublev triumphed over Holger Rune in the final of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, clinching his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Sunday. The 25-year-old Russian emerged victorious after a grueling battle that lasted two hours and 34 minutes, defeating the teenage Danish sensation 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 on a sun-drenched Court Rainier III.

The contest was eagerly anticipated, pitting two of the ATP Tour’s biggest ball-strikers against each other. Rublev fired 33 winners and rallied from a 1-4 deficit in the third set to capture the 13th and biggest title of his career. The fifth seed sealed the deal with his fifth ace of the match, dropping to the court in an ecstatic celebration.

Rublev, who won his 18th tour-level match of the season, has now improved to 1-2 in ATP Masters 1000 finals, having previously lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo and Alexander Zverev in Cincinnati last year. After winning the title, Rublev was overwhelmed with emotion, saying, “I have tears. I don’t know what to say, to be honest. I am just happy, finally. [I have] been struggling so much to win this freaking Masters 1000 tournament. Finally, losing 4-1, Love-30, saving break points, thinking there is no chance to win, and somehow I did it.”

Rublev admitted he had struggled with mental focus in previous finals, but he remained determined to fight until the end, stating, “I was hoping deep inside that at least maybe I would have one chance…to play until the end…and in the end, I was able to do it.”

The victory was a significant milestone for Rublev, who has now climbed seven spots to fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, following his first tour-level title of the season.

The 19-year-old Rune, on the other hand, was aiming to clinch his second ATP Masters 1000 title after his win in Paris last year, where he defeated five top 10 players. Although he fell short in Monte-Carlo, the Dane has had an impressive season with a 17-8 record and will now head to the ATP 250 event in Munich, where he is the defending champion. Rune was the first teenager to reach the final in Monte-Carlo since Rafael Nadal in 2006 when he won the title at 19 years old.

Both players made a fast start to the match, with Rune and Rublev taking large cuts at the ball with their aggressive groundstrokes. Rune used the drop shot effectively in the first set to disrupt Rublev’s rhythm, saving seven of the eight break points he faced. However, Rublev responded brilliantly in the second set, winning 90% of his first-serve points and breaking Rune twice to level the match. For more fresh Tennis news don’t forget to visit Nextbet. 

The Dane came out firing in the third set, racing to a 3-0 lead and hitting with fierce accuracy on return to gain the initiative. But Rublev refused to give up, working his way back into the match from a 1-4 deficit. He fended off two break points and then leveled the score with his aggressive hitting. At 5-5, Rune gifted Rublev the decisive break with a double fault at 30/40, and Rublev closed out the match on serve, improving his head-to-head record against Rune to 2-1.

The match was watched by Formula 1 star Charles Leclerc, who witnessed Rublev’s remarkable triumph over the teenage sensation Rune. It was a fitting finale to the first Masters 1000 clay-court event.