UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai Day 2: Schwartzman, Rublev, Paire and Dimitrov reach semis while Monfils embodies the UTS spirit
Three OLD men and baby Andrey are into the last four at UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai!
31-year-old Diego Schwartzman, 33-year-old Grigor Dimitrov and 34-year-old Benoit Paire – all veterans of the UTS experience – powered through into Sunday’s semi-finals, while outlier Andrey Rublev, who was winless on Day 1, rounded out the quartet.
The success of the thirty somethings is proof that experience counts significantly in the UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai format. It can take time to get used to the rules and therefore it is no surprise that three UTS veterans have achieved breakthrough performances this week in Germany.
5,000 fans that didn’t want to leave the arena!
There was sudden death – and sudden dance-offs – on Day 2 at Suwag Energie Arena in Frankfurt, Germany, with top-notch tennis keeping a packed house of 5000 fans enthralled and on their feet into the late hours of the evening.
In between the wild, uproarious moments and off-the-cuff unpredictability, four semifinal spots were claimed, with three going to a well-heeled trio of thirty somethings that used their experience to conquer the tricky conditions and unique regulations that make UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai the embodiment of… tennis like you’ve never seen it before!
And, with that, the semi-final matchups are set. “Rublo” Andrey Rublev will take on “The Rebel” Benoit Paire, while “El Peque” Diego Schwartzman will face “G-Unit” Grigor Dimitrov.
It all happens on Sunday in Frankfurt (see the order of play at the bottom of the page) and we can’t wait. For now, we’re happy to sit back and relive the glory of a splendid Day 2.
Catch up with all the results from a wild day and night of tennis below ⬇️
Match 1: “Rublo” turns the page and dominates “The Rocket” Eubanks
Andrey Rublev – aka “Rublo” – picked up his first win of UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai as he beat a misfiring Chris Eubanks – “The Rocket” – 3-0 on Saturday in front of a sell-out crowd of 5,000.
Rublev kept alive his semifinal hopes by winning the first match of the day against the 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist, winning it 18-12, 18-12, 20-15.
Round robin – Group B – September 16, 2023 6:00 pm
Rublo
Andrey Rublev
The Rocket
Christopher Eubanks
It was an extreme turnaround from the “Rublo” we saw on Friday – he lost his first match and wasn’t comfortable with the dizzying UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai format.
“I feel great,” Rublev said afterwards. “To win a match – it was not easy yesterday, a lot of stress for me because it was my first time. The countdown was stressing me a lot, I felt I had no time at all. But today I was a bit less stressed and I was able to win, so I’m happy.”
Match 2: “G-Unit” Dimitrov comes back from the brink
“The Rebel” Benoit Paire had “G-Unit” Grigor Dimitrov right where he wanted him in Saturday’s second encounter at UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai, but somehow Dimitrov made a miraculous escape to earn the first sudden death victory of the weekend.
Paire had a match point that could have left him at 3-0 for the weekend and clinched a semi-final berth, but Dimitrov made a great escape to claim victory 11-17, 11-16, 15-14, 19-15, 4-3.
Code name: “Stolen quarter”
Round robin – Group A – September 16, 2023 7:00 pm
G-Unit
Grigor Dimitrov
The Rebel
Benoit Paire
Trailing 2-0, Dimitrov won a quarter point at 14-14 in the third quarter, then rallied from 14-15 down late in the fourth quarter, connecting on his three-pointer and stretching the lead to 18-15 at the buzzer.
The sudden death was an exercise in nerves – the players missed four consecutive serves at one point – but it was Dimitrov who held his intact to lock up the victory.
Match 3: El Peque Stays Perfect!
Diego Schwartzman aka “El Peque” has been looking for momentum all season long. Maybe the formidable Argentine, a former world No 8 who has struggled to find his best tennis in 2023, has found it at UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai.
Schwartzman qualified for the semi-finals by defeating “The Rocket” Chris Eubanks in decisive fashion, 15-12, 19-12, 22-11, to take his record to 3-0, while Eubanks, who drops to 1-2, was eliminated from contention.
Round robin – Group B – September 16, 2023 8:00 pm
The Rocket
Christopher Eubanks
El Peque
Diego Schwartzman
Schwartzman says he is living his best life in Frankfurt.
“So far, the best week of the entire year, I think,” Schwartzman said. “I’m feeling great. It’s full today here, thanks everyone for coming, it’s really nice to have a full crowd. I have one more day to enjoy it tomorrow.
There is no magic. Here we try to be competitors but play with the (crowd), be funny with our answers, it’s a good combination for us, maybe I’ll try that on Tour, to be more relaxed and maybe ask for one serve.”
Match 4: “The Rebel” Benoit Paire reaches semis
In his first match on Saturday, Benoit Paire couldn’t close the door against Grigor Dimitrov despite having a 2-0 quarter lead and holding four different match points, but the Frenchman came back with a vengeance to do the trick against “The Thunder” Jan-Lennard Struff.
The loss also eliminated Struff from semi-final contention.
Paire won three extremely close quarters to prevail 16-13, 17-16, 16-14 in a hotly contested night match at the Süwag Energie Arena in Frankfurt.
Round robin – Group A – September 16, 2023 9:30 pm
The Thunder
Jan-Lennard Struff
The Rebel
Benoit Paire
It was an emotional moment for Paire, who reaches the semis for the first time in his fourth UTS by Builder.ai appearance.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” said Paire. “I hope you enjoyed the show. I am very happy because I reached the semi-final, but I am also very happy because I enjoyed it with everybody in the crowd.”
Match 5: Dimitrov aka “G-Unit” Reaches Semis!
It was in the hands of “The Iceman” Casper Ruud on Saturday evening in Frankfurt, but slippery and sensational Grigor Dimitrov stole the last semi-final spot away from the Norwegian by taking the third and fourth quarters to assure himself of a spot in Sunday’s last four at UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai.
Round robin – Group A – September 16, 2023 10:30 pm
G-Unit
Grigor Dimitrov
The Ice Man
Casper Ruud
“If it’s easy I don’t like it,” said Dimitrov of his long, difficult Saturday which featured two sudden death matches.
Match 6: “Rublo” Andrey Rublev takes the last semi-final slot
It was a wild, entertaining showstopper of a match, one that embodied the UTS by Builder.ai spirit in every way. In the end Andrey Rublev came away with the victory 19-11, 16-14, 12-13, 13-12 over “La Monf” Gael Monfils, but the contest took on a life of its own when Monfils went showtime and captivated his crowd with brilliant tennis – and world-class dance moves!
Round robin – Group B – September 16, 2023 11:30 pm
Rublo
Andrey Rublev
La Monf
Gaël Monfils
Monfils hit one of the greatest shots in UTS Frankfurt by Builder.ai history and it set the tone for a rambunctious contest.
Rublev marches on to the semi-finals but it was Monfils who showed everybody how it is done in this match.
“What I like is this format it, of course you can have fun, but also you can see top players – Andrey is one of the biggest names in our sport and he showed tonight his greatness,” said the Frenchman.
Rublev offered the following words of praise when asked about “La Monf.”
“Gael is one of the legends of our sport who is bringing so much joy to all spectators,” he said. “Even when I was a kid, he for sure put a lot of influence and inspired people to enjoy more and to start to love this sport.”
Semi-final lineup:
- 1430: “El Peque” Diego Schwartzman vs “G-Unit” Grigor Dimitrov
- 1530: “Rublo” Andrey Rublev vs “The Rebel” Benoit Paire
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