MONTREAL: Andrey Rublev cruised into his second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season on Sunday, setting up a title match against Alexei Popyrin in Montreal.
Fifth seed Rublev, who won the Madrid Masters title in May, overcame a two-hour rain stoppage to beat Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2 in their semi-final.
He will compete for the trophy on Monday night against Australia’s Popyrin, who beat last week’s ATP Washington winner Sebastian Korda 7-6 (7/0), 6-3 in 92 minutes.
But the Russian, who skipped the Paris Olympics to prepare for the North American hard courts that resume next week in Cincinnati, said he made the right scheduling choice.
“I think if I’m in the Montreal final, it has to work.
He said it wasn’t easy facing Arnaldi, whose ranking will move to around 30th, putting him in the squad for the US Open.
The wind didn’t help him,” Rublev said.
“I played a lot better after the rain. I was focused and could dictate and play more aggressively.”
Popyrin traded breaks twice in the first set with Korda, but completely dominated the tiebreaker to love.
The Australian stormed to the start of the second set and held on to victory as he reached his first Masters final.
“It’s an amazing feeling and an achievement.
“But tomorrow it will be all hands on deck and back to work.
“The first set was cheesy, a couple of breaks here and there. But I stayed mentally strong and I gained strength in the tiebreak.”
‘He’s really fast’
Popyrin beat Rublev on clay in Monte Carlo last spring, but knows the seed is also a big danger on hard court.
“He’s playing a tough match on a hard court,” Rublev said. “He’s really fast.
Rublev came out after a rain break in his win over Arnaldi and produced a double break after less than 30 minutes to reach the final.
“It was worth it, this whole week was worth it,” Rublev said of the rain delays that plagued the event.
“I’m happy to be in my first Canadian final.
In two rain-delayed quarter-finals, Alexander Zverev squandered a chance to claim his 50th win of the season as he lost to American Korda and Popyrin 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 6-4. for Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.
