Andrey Rublev of Russia beat Carlos Alcaraz of Spain 6-2 6-1 in the second semifinal of the Mubadala World Tennis Championships in Abu Dhabi on Saturday. The 25-year-old Rublev will now face Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece in the final on Sunday.
Saturday’s match lasted for around two hours as the Russian did not have much trouble in quelling the Spaniard’s challenge. We will now take a look at two keys to the match:
#1. The serve of Rublev made the difference in the match:
Rublev’s powerful serve made the difference on a really fast surface, as the Russian was not broken even once in the match. The Russian served with a lot of venom that made things difficult for the 19-year-old Alcaraz, who could only punish the farmer’s weaker second serves occasionally.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, could not produce the same effect with his serve and was broken in his very first service game. He was broken twice each in the two sets and could only come up with powerful serves occasionally.
#2. Alcaraz struggled to hold his own in the baseline exchanges:
Alcaraz could not quite hold his own in the baseline exchanges, as Rublev often managed to over power him and hit quite a few winners with his formidable forehand.
Alcaraz could realise that he did not have much of a chance from the baseline on that fast court and tried a few other tricks by rushing the net and hitting volleys and drop-volleys.
The Spaniard also came up with a few good defensive love, but Rublev’s potent one-two combination of his serve and forehand remained effective throughout the match.
Main Photo from Getty.
