Rublo first man into semi-finals at Bastide Medical UTS Nimes

Andrey Rublev beat Ben Shelton 18-11, 20-7, 11-14, 19-7

Ben Shelton and Andrey Rublev, UTS Nîmes 2025 | © UTS Tour

April 4, 2025

The biggest crowd in UTS history packed into Arena de Nimes on Friday to see two-time champion Andrey “Rublo” Rublev defeat Ben “The Mountain” Shelton by three quarters to one – and secure his place in the semi-final of Bastide Medical UTS Nimes.

8,000 fans cheered as Rublev recovered from a slow start to emerge victorious, 18-11, 20-7, 11-14, 19-7 – and benefited from new coach Marat Safin in his corner, surprisingly using a lot of serve-and-volley to good effect.

“It’s one of the highlights of my life,” Rublo said of the opportunity to play in the Arena de Nimes.

Shelton : “He played his best attacking tennis”

Shelton played his final bonus card with thirty seconds remaining in a desperate effort to close the gap, but Rublo was once more the sharper player. Indeed, Rublev also played four of his bonus cards to his own advantage.

“I thought that he hit a lot more winners, a lot less on forced errors,” Shelton said afterwards. “He played his best attacking tennis and didn’t miss too much. So, difficult opponent out there. I had a lot of fun playing in the stadium, but, yeah, came up short, a little bit short.”

In the semi-final, Rublev will face the winner of the match between Alexei “The Sniper” Popyrin and Casper “The Ice Man” Ruud.