ATP Finals 2022: Russia's Tennis star Andrey Rublev on Friday sailed past Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals. Rublev defeated the second-seeded Tsitsipas by 3-6, 6-3 and 6-2 to make it to the final four of the event for the first time. He is set to face Norwegian Casper Ruud in the semifinal.
The match was a winner takes all affair and the Russian made a decent comeback after going down in the first set. He then bagged the next two sets in Turin to claim the victory in 1 hour and 42 minutes. After winning the match, Rublev said, "I didn't give up. I kept fighting and playing. I lost my emotions a bit when I lost a stupid game at 40-0 in the first set. But then I just kept fighting. I thought I would have a chance if I just gave my best. I managed to turn the match around and I am happy to be in the semis."
After Rublev's win, all four semifinalists of the ATP Finals 2022 are confirmed. Rublev will face Ruud while Novak Djokovic will lock horns against USA's Taylor Fritz in the final-four clash. Rublev had earlier won one out of two group matches in the tournament. He defeated compatriot Daniil Medvedev before going down to Serbia's Novak Djokovic. Meanwhile, Djokovic continued his unbeaten run in the tournament and is in the hunt for a record-equalling ATP Finals title. He earlier defeated Rublev and Tsitsipas before beating Medvedev in his final group outing. After a gruelling victory in a dead rubber against Medvedev, the Serbian reached the final four.
After beating Medvedev Djokovic said, "On the physical side, I'm not worried because worry just depletes you of the vital energy you need. If something happens tomorrow in a good or bad way, it happens, and I have to deal with it then. I'm going to do everything I possibly can today with my physio, with myself, and with my team in order to get a good rest and a good recovery. I've had many cases in my life before where I managed to recover very quickly. Hopefully, that's going to be the case again." Djokovic has five ATP Final titles and is looking to equal former Swiss Legend Roger Federer's record of six singles titles.
