Setting Up Sunday: Rublev, Rune vie for Monte Carlo glory; Lisicki, Parks in Stuttgart qualifying

WATCH: Highlights from Rune's semifinal win over Sinner

Call it high-stakes Sunday as ATP and WTA players to continue to inch forward on the road to Roland Garros. In Monte Carlo, an opportunity for one perennial top tenner to capture his first Tennis Masters 1000 title, the other contender to earn a second while still a teenager. Five hundred miles north of Monte Carlo, in Stuttgart, eight women vie for the chance to earn one of four qualifier spots in the main draw of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

ATP: Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, Rublev vs. Rune

To think that by the age of 25, Andrey Rublev has already won 12 ATP singles titles. But none of them have come at a Masters 1000 event. At two of the 1000-level stops, both in 2021, Rublev reached the final. The first came in Monte Carlo, when he defeated Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals and went on to lose the final versus Stefanos Tsitsipas. Later that summer, in Cincinnati, Rublev beat lifelong rival Daniil Medvedev in the semis and was beaten in the final by Alexander Zverev. In Saturday’s Monte Carlo semi, the sixth-ranked Rublev executed his trademark brand of power baseline tennis to overcome Taylor Fritz and a third-set rain delay, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. For future reference, keep an eye on Rublev-Fritz as a superb blossoming rivalry (Fritz currently leads it 4-3).

And speaking of excellent tennis and the shape of rivalries to come, 19-year-old Holger Rune’s rain-delayed 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 semifinal victory over Jannik Sinner was one of the best matches of 2023. The ninth-ranked Rune has now won both times they’ve played one another (each a three-setter). Thoroughly dominated by Sinner in the first set, Rune’s superb blend of movement, power and precision carried him to his second Masters 1000 final; the first happened last fall in Paris, when the Dane beat Novak Djokovic in dramatic fashion, 7-5 in the third.

Rublev and Rune also have the makings of a tremendous rivalry. Rune beat Rublev on the way to winning Paris. But Rublev evened things with a fifth-set tiebreaker victory earlier this year in the round of 16 of the Australian Open.

Power, speed, intensity—Rublev-Rune will provide plenty. Rublev has the edge in the experience department, but even in these early stages of his career, Rune has shown an exceptional ability to come up big. And though Rune’s win over Sinner finished late into the night due to the rain, Rune at this point in his career appears tireless. That said, Rublev is hungry to at last earn a breakthrough victory.

To a great degree, Monte Carlo this week has emphatically addressed a question on the minds of all tennis aficionados: What will life look like after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic have retired? Based on the quality of the tennis in Monte Carlo, the signals point positively.

WTA: Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, final round of qualifying

Of the eight women that remain in contention at this WTA 500 event, two in particular strike me as exceptionally compelling—one veteran, one newcomer.

The familiar face is 33-year-old Sabine Lisicki. Ten years ago, paced by one of the best serves in the game, Lisicki beat Serena Williams at Wimbledon and went all the way to the final before losing that match to Marion Bartoli. Since then, various injuries have derailed her considerably. By the end of 2020, as Lisicki recovered from knee surgery, she finished the year ranked No. 622. When healthy, Lisicki has always brought exceptional passion and power to her tennis. But as you’d expect from a player currently ranked 281 in the world, of late, Lisicki’s presence in WTA main draws has been minimal: only one prior appearance this year, a first-round loss to Caroline Dolehide in Charleston just last week. To reach the main draw of Stuttgart, Lisicki will need to get past a crafty veteran, 32nd-ranked Petra Martic.

While Lisicki seeks to make her back up the tennis escalator, world No. 55 Alycia Parks is in the middle of a swift ride upwards. As recently as last November, this 22-year-old American was ranked 150 in the world. The next month, though, a pair of title runs at WTA 125 events in Andorra and Angers vaulted Parks to a year-end ranking of 75. Parks’ excellent tennis continued as 2023 began, most notably in February when she beat fifth-ranked Caroline Garcia in the final of Lyon for her first WTA Tour trophy. Since that day, though, Parks has gone 1-6 in WTA main draw matches. Her opponent Sunday will be 106th-ranked Tamara Korpatsch, a 27-year-old veteran who has gone 0-4 in WTA main draw matches this year.