Rublev beats rain and Arnaldi to reach Montreal final | ATP Tour

Montreal

Rublev beats the rain and Arnaldi to reach the final in Montreal

The fifth seed will seek the title against Popyrin

August 12, 2024

A lengthy rain stoppage could not dampen Andrey Rublev’s explosive run to the final of the Omnium Banque National presented by Rogers, as the world No. 8 defeated Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 6-2 to reach Monday’s ATP Masters 1000 final in Montreal.

Everything was going well until the rain came and play was halted with Rublev leading the Italian 6-4, 1-1. After a one-hour and 40-minute suspension in Sunday night’s match, Rublev returned to the court winning five of the last six games of the match.

“The wait was worth it. I’m happy to be in my first Canadian final,” Rublev said. “I just want to recover, rest well and be ready for tomorrow. The idea [de no ir a los Juegos Olímpicos] “I wanted to be more prepared for Canada, so if I’m in the final it means we’ve done very well.”

Rublev advanced to his sixth ATP Masters 1000 final a day after beating World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Arnaldi, meanwhile, was contesting his second tour-level semi-final and first at an ATP Masters 1000 event. The 23-year-old Italian has climbed 17 spots to No. 29 in the PIF Live ATP Rankings.

Rublev will now face Australian Alexei Popyrin in the final, who is having a dream week after beating Sebastian Korda 7-6 (0), 6-3. The Aussie made the difference in the first set tiebreak, after Korda served to take the set. With pure winners, Popyrin set the tone of the match to take a significant victory.

“It means a lot to me and it’s an incredible feeling to play in an ATP Masters 1000 final,” said the Aussie. “Sometimes you have to believe in yourself,” he said with a smile.