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Stefanos Tsitsipas Defeats Andrey Rublev to Win 2021 Monte Carlo Masters Final
April 18, 2021
Stefanos Tsitsipas rolled to his first ATP Masters 1000 championship Sunday, earning a 6-3, 6-3 win over Andrey Rublev to win the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.
Tsitsipas was dominant on his service game throughout, winning 24 of his 28 first-serve points and not seeing a single break point. He converted all three of his own break-point chances on Rublev, who only won 33 percent of his second-serve points.
“I had an unbelievable week in Monte-Carlo,” Tsitsipas said. “I can’t describe my feelings right now. I am overwhelmed by so many different emotions and nostalgia. It is incredible that I am able to be in the position that I am. We both deserved to be in the final. We put on an amazing fight and an amazing show… I would consider it as the [best] week of my life so far.”
Tsitsipas has now won six titles on the ATP Tour. This is his second career title on clay, previously capturing the 2019 Millennium Estoril Open.
The world No. 5 did not drop a single set in his Monte-Carlo run, putting him off to a stellar start as he looks to build his clay resume. Tsitsipas made his first French Open semifinal in 2020 before losing a five-set thriller to Novak Djokovic, who was upset by Dan Evans in the round of 16 on Thursday.
“The clay-court season couldn’t have started better,” Tsitsipas said. “It is the best thing winning my first Masters 1000 and it is even more special doing it here on home soil in Monte-Carlo and doing it on clay, which is my favorite surface.”
Rublev, who was looking for his ninth career ATP championship, lost to Tsitsipas last year in the French quarters. The Russian shockingly eliminated Rafael Nadal on his way to the Monte-Carlo finals.
Tsitsipas now holds a 5-4 career record against Rublev.