The impact of new coach Marat Safin was immediately apparent in Andrey Rublev’s game as they combined for their first match at Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes.
World No 9 Rublev took out World No 14 Ben Shelton 3-1 18/11 20/7 19/7 in the first match in the historic Arènes de Nîmes.
When asked about his performance at the end of the match Rublev said: “We had a tactic from Marat and we were just trying to follow it.
“He’s been through many things in his life plus on top of that he has known me since I was little and I know him all my life, I think he can help me but I cannot be specific because we only started to work like 3 days, so we will see after a couple of months.”
The tactic obviously worked as Rublev claimed his spot in Saturday’s semifinals where he will play World No 6 Casper Ruud (unlike other UTS events Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes will be played over two days and will be a straight knockout format) after Ruud made short work of Alexei Popyrin.
Rublev also spoke about the incredible atmosphere and opportunity to play in the 1000 year old Arènes de Nîmes: “I never in my life experience something like that, even as a tourist. I was many times in Rome but I never been inside the Colosseum, so to be able not just to be inside something similar but to perform, it’s for sure one of the highlights of my life.”
Despite his loss Shelton also enjoyed the chance to play in such a memorable location, “I’ve never seen an arena like this before. They were fighting before, now we are playing tennis.”
Alex De Minaur and Tomas Machac will face off in the second semifinal after disappointment for the French crowd saw De Minaur defeat French No.1 Ugo Humbert and Machac see off French legend Gael Monfils.
Alex De Minaur playing on the UTSTour
Friday saw a record for a single day at UTS of 8,000 spectators, a record that will only last for one day as a sold-out 12,500 crowd will descend on the Arènes de Nîmes on Saturday.
A total prize pool of $1 million is up for grabs at Bastide Médical UTS Nîmes, with the champion receiving $301,000.
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RESULTS FRIDAY 4th APRIL
(UTS nickname in brackets)
Andrey Rublev (Rublo) d Ben Shelton (the Mountain) 3-1 18/11 20/7 19/7
Alex de Minaur (Demon) d Ugo Humbert (the Commander) 3-0 15/14 13/12 17/9
Casper Ruud (the Iceman) d Alexei Popyrin (the Sniper) 3-0 17/13 20/6 16/10
Tomas Machac (the Air Machete) d Gäel Monfils (La Monf) 3-1 16/10 8/19 19/7 18/10
ORDER OF PLAY SATURDAY 5th APRIL – 12.00 – 17.30 local time
(All players in action but matches TBC depending on Friday results)
12pm : Ben Shelton (the Mountain) versus Alexei Popyrin (the Sniper)
1pm : Semi-final 1 – Alex de Minaur (Demon) versus Tomas Machac (the Air Machete)
2pm : Semi-final 2 – Casper Ruud (the Iceman) versus Andrey Rublev (Rublo)
3pm : Gäel Monfils (La Monf) versus Ugo Humbert (the Commander)
4.15pm : Winner of Semi-final 1 versus Winner of Semi-final 2
UTS RULES
- 4 quarters of 8 minutes each
- Less time (15 seconds) between points
- No second serve
- Unlimited coaching from the sidelines
- Player interviews between the quarters
- Strategic use of bonus cards by players
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