Andrey Rublev beats his friend Grigor Dimitrov to reach Shanghai Masters final

The Shanghai Master's is currently underway. Andrey Rublev defeated Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to reach the final of the tournament. If Rublev wins the Russian will secure a spot in the season-concluding ATP Finals. He fought with Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, on Saturday evening as he reeled off five consecutive games in the second set on his way to the final.

Rublev will meet Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz in China on Sunday. The Polish world number 17 beat American Sebastian Korda 6-3 6-4. The first set lasted 76 minutes and he came back from a break down in the second to win 7-6 (9-7) 6-3. The 25-year-old Russian has won all 10 sets he has played in the event.  

He will be aiming to claim his second Masters 1000 title of the year after winning in Monte Carlo in April. His win meant disappointment for Bulgarian 18th seed Dimitrov, who defeated Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz in the fourth round and was aiming for his first ATP title in six years.

It’s not easy when you win matches against friends, because you feel both sides: Andrey Rublev

Rublev after the win said, "It’s not easy when you win matches against friends, because you feel both sides. You feel sad, but at the same time you want to win. It’s a mix of feelings. I feel sorry for the situation in the tie-break at 3-2, because I wanted to replay the point,” added Rublev. “Grigor behaved like a real champion and said, ’It’s not [your fault], so he gave me the point. Maybe because of this point I was able to win the tie-break."

"I’m thinking only to rest and try to recover for tomorrow, because Hubi is so tough to play,” said Rublev of Hurkacz. “He’s one of the players that you don’t want to face because he can beat everyone. With his style of the game, the way he serves, the way he hits the ball. We’ll see, I just want to take my time to recover and to be as [ready] as possible for tomorrow."