<p>Russia's Andrey Rublev fought back against Denmark's Holger Rune to win his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo on Sunday.</p>.<p>The fifth seed rallied from 4-1 down in the deciding set to defeat sixth-seeded teenager Rune 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 after one hour 34 minutes on the red clay of Court Rainier III.</p>.<p>Rublev, 25, claimed the biggest win of his career after losing Masters finals in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, both in 2021.</p>.<p>"I don't know what to say. Trailing 1-4, 0/30, then saving break points, thinking there is no chance to win. But somehow I did it," said the world number six, who blasted down 33 winners on the way to his 13th career title.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/tsitsipas-title-defence-ended-by-fritz-in-monte-carlo-1209741.html" target="_blank">Tsitsipas' title defence ended by Fritz in Monte Carlo</a></strong></p>.<p>"I was hoping deep inside that I would have one chance," he continued.</p>.<p>"Play until the end. I remember the previous finals and when I was losing I thought I'd have no chance and mentally I was going down.</p>.<p>"But today I thought, 'Just believe until the end', and this is what I was trying to do in the third set, hoping I would have an extra chance to come back and what a way to do it."</p>.<p>Deprived of his national flag after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the player from Moscow thanked the crowd for their support.</p>.<p>"Coming from the country where I come from, to receive such international support, it is enormous," he said.</p>.<p>Rune, 19, was aiming for his second Masters 1000 title after defeating five Top 10 players en route to the title in Paris last year.</p>.<p>The two players had previously played each other twice -- the Dane won last year at the Masters 1000 in Paris in the quarter-finals before defeating Novak Djokovic in the final.</p>.<p>In January, it was Rublev who won their Australian Open clash after saving match points in the last 16.</p>.<p>On Sunday, the match between these two fiery big-hitters failed to live up to expectations compared to the Australian showdown.</p>.<p>The Dane saved seven of the eight break points he faced in the first set, before benefiting from a big unforced error by Rublev on the last game's break point.</p>.<p>The Russian immediately took the lead in the second set to lead 2-0, but Rune came back to 2-2.</p>.<p>In the process, Rublev chained four games to equalise at one set all. Rune seemed to be on a roll to victory in the third set racing to 3-0 and had a double break point to lead 5-1.</p>.<p>But it was the Russian who lined up three games in a row and then managed the break, taking advantage of the nervousness of his opponent, who notably missed two smashes in a row to lead 6-5 and serve for the match.</p>.<p>He gave himself three consecutive match points and concluded with an ace on the second.</p>.<p>Rafael Nadal, an 11-time winner in Monte Carlo, and Carlos Alcaraz missed this key French Open warm-up with injury while top seed Novak Djokovic was knocked out in the last 16.</p>
<p>Russia's Andrey Rublev fought back against Denmark's Holger Rune to win his first Masters 1000 title in Monte Carlo on Sunday.</p>.<p>The fifth seed rallied from 4-1 down in the deciding set to defeat sixth-seeded teenager Rune 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 after one hour 34 minutes on the red clay of Court Rainier III.</p>.<p>Rublev, 25, claimed the biggest win of his career after losing Masters finals in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, both in 2021.</p>.<p>"I don't know what to say. Trailing 1-4, 0/30, then saving break points, thinking there is no chance to win. But somehow I did it," said the world number six, who blasted down 33 winners on the way to his 13th career title.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/tennis/tsitsipas-title-defence-ended-by-fritz-in-monte-carlo-1209741.html" target="_blank">Tsitsipas' title defence ended by Fritz in Monte Carlo</a></strong></p>.<p>"I was hoping deep inside that I would have one chance," he continued.</p>.<p>"Play until the end. I remember the previous finals and when I was losing I thought I'd have no chance and mentally I was going down.</p>.<p>"But today I thought, 'Just believe until the end', and this is what I was trying to do in the third set, hoping I would have an extra chance to come back and what a way to do it."</p>.<p>Deprived of his national flag after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the player from Moscow thanked the crowd for their support.</p>.<p>"Coming from the country where I come from, to receive such international support, it is enormous," he said.</p>.<p>Rune, 19, was aiming for his second Masters 1000 title after defeating five Top 10 players en route to the title in Paris last year.</p>.<p>The two players had previously played each other twice -- the Dane won last year at the Masters 1000 in Paris in the quarter-finals before defeating Novak Djokovic in the final.</p>.<p>In January, it was Rublev who won their Australian Open clash after saving match points in the last 16.</p>.<p>On Sunday, the match between these two fiery big-hitters failed to live up to expectations compared to the Australian showdown.</p>.<p>The Dane saved seven of the eight break points he faced in the first set, before benefiting from a big unforced error by Rublev on the last game's break point.</p>.<p>The Russian immediately took the lead in the second set to lead 2-0, but Rune came back to 2-2.</p>.<p>In the process, Rublev chained four games to equalise at one set all. Rune seemed to be on a roll to victory in the third set racing to 3-0 and had a double break point to lead 5-1.</p>.<p>But it was the Russian who lined up three games in a row and then managed the break, taking advantage of the nervousness of his opponent, who notably missed two smashes in a row to lead 6-5 and serve for the match.</p>.<p>He gave himself three consecutive match points and concluded with an ace on the second.</p>.<p>Rafael Nadal, an 11-time winner in Monte Carlo, and Carlos Alcaraz missed this key French Open warm-up with injury while top seed Novak Djokovic was knocked out in the last 16.</p>