The Ligurian tennis player surrenders to the Russian 6-2 6-2 in two sets. In the final, the number 8 in the world will challenge the host Novak Djokovic who defeated Khachanov 4-6 6-1 6-2
Andrey Rublev will take the field tomorrow in the final of the Belgrade tournament against Novak Djokovic. Defeated in the second semifinal of the day the blue Fabio Fognini who gave up to the Russian n.8 in the world ranking in the minimum of partials with the score of 6-2 6-2, gained in just over an hour of play. For Rublev this is the sixteenth final in his career and the second confrontation with the n.1 in the world. The only precedent was staged last year at the Nitto Atp Finals in Turin, where the Serbian won 6-3 6-2.
The match
–
Andrey Rublev, number 2 on the board, immediately starts aggressive in response, and in the opening game he already gets three chances to snatch the Italian’s serve. Fognini resists but in the third game two double fouls compromise the game, giving the Muscovite the first break. Not too many minutes pass before the 4-1 break, the second in a row for Andrey, who with an impressive service performance (only 2 points lost in the whole set) and a bum-bum tennis leaves no room to creep in, comfortably closing the partial 6-2. In the second half, the story does not change: Rublev continues to hammer on all fronts while the Italian is visibly nervous because of his performance at the bar. At 2-2 the Russian seizes the first opportunity to capitalize on a further break, before scoring the decisive one in the match in the seventh game. The most hard-fought game of the match is played at 5-2: Fognini gets for the first time three balls useful to recover one of the services granted, however, the tennis expressed in the day by the Italian is not enough, with Andrey who puts the seal with a other 6-2.
The number 1
–
It will therefore be the final between the two highest seeds of the tournament in Belgrade. Tomorrow, at 14:00, Andrey Rublev will challenge the host Novak Djokovic for the title. The Serbian in the first semifinal of the day has in fact imposed a comeback on the other Russian Karen Khachanov with a score of 4-6 6-1 6-2, matured in an hour and 59 minutes of play. For Djokovic it was the third consecutive comeback this week, after the complicated successes obtained against compatriots Djere and Kecmanovic. At the end of the semifinal, the number one joked about how the decision has become a habit for him during this edition of the Serbia Open, given the lack of games on his legs since the beginning of the season (he has only played 7). Regarding his current level he said: “The second and third sets were the best tennis I played in the whole week. I’m getting close to where I want to be ”.
April 23, 2022 (change April 23, 2022 | 18:41)
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED
#Belgrade #Fognini #leaves #stage #semifinals #DjokovicRublev #title