Andrey “Rublo” Rublev quells Paire at UTS London

Andrey “Rublo” Rublev signed off from UTS Grand Final round-robin action with a dominant win over Benoit Paire, The Rebel, 19-6, 16-13, 19-12, to seal his spot at the top of Group A.

“I’m happy I’m able to show this tennis, we will see what happens tomorrow, because with me you never know!” Rublo joked afterwards.

Rublev began the match knowing he was already through to the semi-finals, while Paire knew he was eliminated.

Nonetheless, there was pride at stake; the two met in the semi-finals at UTS Frankfurt, where Rublo trounced The Rebel 21-8, 14-13, 17-13.

Paire: Rublo kills me

Paire started slowly, missing on his serve, and with his hot shots falling short – notably a tweener that put Rublo 9-4 up.

And Rublev benefited from a lucky net cord that moved him 19-6 into the lead, triggering ironic applause from his opponent.

Rublo took the quarter by an impressive 26-10 scoreline, and Paire admitted, “To be honest, he kills me…when he plays with confidence like this, it’s impossible to play against him.”

And although The Rebel took the lead midway through the second quarter, Rublo’s intensity throughout the rallies gave him the impetus to come from behind and seize it, 16-13.

On match point, as Rublev took the third quarter 19-12, Paire shrugged as if to say he could do nothing more against such an inexorable opponent.

Rublev finishes the round-robin stage with a point average of 48 – while Paire is bottom of the group with a point average of -52.

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