Mubadala World Tennis Championship 2021: Andrey Rublev vs Andy Murray preview, head-to-head & prediction
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Andrey Rublev vs (6) Andy Murray
Date: 18 December 2021
Tournament: Mubadala World Tennis Championship
Round: Final
Venue: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Category: Exhibition Tournament
Surface: Outdoor Hardcourt
Prize money: $250,000
Match timing: Not before 7 pm local time, 3 pm GMT, 8:30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport
Andrey Rublev vs Andy Murray preview
Top seed Andrey Rublev will take on three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray in the final of the 2021 Mubadala World Tennis Championship on Saturday.
Rublev battled for over two hours against Denis Shapovalov, eventually prevailing in three tough sets. The first set was pretty even as both players held serve until the tie-break.
Rublev held four break points for an early lead in the fourth game, but failed to capitalize on those opportunities. He didn't make the same mistake in the tie-break though and managed to claim the opener.
Shapovalov upped his level in the second set and levelled proceedings. He had a chance to go up an early break in the deciding set as well, but squandered it.
The duo held serve until the final game of the match, when Rublev managed to break to seal the win.
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐ก ๐๐ค๐ช๐ฃ๐ โ
@AndreyRublev97 will face either Rafa Nadal or Sir Andy Murray in the hunt for his first #MWTC title ๐
#MakeWayForTheBest https://t.co/Q9Lreav4Xl
Andy Murray, meanwhile, put a dampener on Rafael Nadal's much-awaited comeback as he defeated the Spaniard 6-3, 7-5.
The long-time rivals played their first match in more than five years and put up quite a show for the crowd. Nadal was a little rusty, but that shouldn't take away from Murray's performance as the Brit competed quite well.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was by far the better player in the first set, as Nadal took time to get going. After going up a break in the middle of the first, Murray managed to hold on to that lead.
The duo held serve until 5-5 in the second set, before Murray managed to get a break and then serve out the match. The Brit looks to be slowly gaining the form that made him one of the best players of his generation and he will be keen to carry the momentum into the final against Rublev.
SIR ๐ ANDY ๐
@Andy_Murray will face Andrey Rublev in our final tomorrow ๐
#MWTC #MakeWayForTheBest https://t.co/IZxFsWU2Ka
Andrey Rublev vs Andy Murray head-to-head
Andrey Rublev and Andy Murray have played each other twice prior, splitting their meetings. As such, their head-to-head is tied at 1-1. The Russian won their previous encounter at the Rotterdam Open in straight sets.
Andrey Rublev vs Andy Murray prediction
After hitting a slump towards the end of the season, Rublev's been playing a lot better since the Davis Cup. Even when he hit a rough patch in his match against Shapovalov, he wasn't too hard on himself and got out of trouble by playing some smart tennis.
However, the Russian struggled on his serve quite a bit and will need to fix that aspect of his game against Murray, who is one of the best returners in the sport.
Murray has made considerable progress this year and has looked competitive for the most part. He has the tools to handle Rublev's firepower, especially his explosive forehand. But despite Murray's considerable improvements, the Russian remains the favorite to come through this contest.
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