Russian tennis player Andrei Rublev defeated the third racket of the world from Spaniard Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Masters series in Monte Carlo.
The meeting of the athletes took place on April 16. In total, the opponents spent 2 hours 33 minutes on the court. The game ended in three sets with a score of 6: 2, 4: 6, 6: 2 in favor of the Russian.
In the semifinals, Rublev will play with Norwegian tennis player Kasper Ruud, who beat the reigning tournament champion Italian Fabio Fognini (6: 4, 6: 3).
The 23-year-old Russian, who is in eighth place in the ATP rankings, beat Nadal for the first time. They had previously met twice.
“Andrey beat Nadal tactically. <...> As no one else can see that Andrey has added a lot. I improved in physical condition, in serving, in the game. An absolutely phenomenal and logical victory, “commented the victory of the Russian Yevgeny Kafelnikov in an interview with Sport-Express.
It is noteworthy that the Spaniard won the Monte Carlo tournament 11 times in his career.
On April 13, it became known that Russian Daniil Medvedev had starred with Masters in Monte Carlo. His coronavirus test result was positive. The athlete is isolated.