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NEW YORK—Tennis matches at the highest levels of the game are frequently settled by the thinnest of margins. The players in the upper regions of the sport make it awfully difficult for adversaries to expose their vulnerabilities. They know what is required to win and make a habit out of refusing to lose. They realize that sometimes the outcomes of hard-fought matches are beyond their control.

And so it was for No. 8 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, as he was beaten by world No. 43 Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (7), 7-5, in the first round of the season’s last major. There was little that separated this pair of gifted 21-year-olds on this occasion as they battled predominantly from the backcourt with deep determination on Louis Armstrong Stadium from the late morning on into the middle of the afternoon.

Tsitsipas was irrefutably the more artistic of the two performers, looking for every opportunity to move forward, volleying with panache, covering the net with swift assurance. Rublev was following a much simpler formula to attain success.

While Tsitsipas was looking to exploit his spectacular one-handed backhand down the line and hoping to be the better man in the longer rallies, Rublev was a powerhouse hitting uncompromisingly through the court and coaxing errors from his opponent through sheer depth and pace. There were stretches when each player had the upper hand. But neither fellow was ascendant for long and both found ways to gather momentum.

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

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Yet, in the end, the primary reason that Rublev prevailed in this encounter was simply this: the slightly stronger competitor physically came through after three hours and 54 minutes of brutality from the backcourt. Tsitsipas was cramping down the stretch in the fourth set and fortunate to keep it close. His anguish between points as he stretched his legs and fought for survival was painfully evident. Over the course of the last seven or eight games, he was playing on borrowed time. In his condition, fashioning a five-set victory was out of the question.

Rublev’s depth and ball control were too much for the Greek in the early stages. The Russian broke serve in the opening game of the match. He even had a break point for 3-0 but Tsitsipas saved it ably. Nonetheless, Rublev rolled on. Serving for the set in the 10th game, leading 30-15, he released consecutive aces. The set belonged to Rublev, 6-4.

When Rublev garnered an early break in the second set, he seemed in command, but Tsitsipas broke back for 2-2. Both men held the rest of the way to set up a tie-break. Tsitsipas moved ahead 5-2 with sharper focus, and eventually claimed the set stylishly with a forehand inside in winner driven with conviction. He took it, 7-5, to reach one set all.

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

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The third set was not only pivotal but the best played set of the day. Rublev forged ahead 4-2, breaking serve in the sixth game with a relentless assault of deep shots that eventually stifled Tsitsipas. Serving for a 5-2 lead, he reached 40-15 but Tsitsipas stepped up boldly to that moment, rifling a forehand winner into the clear, and then coming forward confidently to angle away a forehand drop volley.

Tsitsipas was reading Rublev’s backhand down the line passing shot all match long and covering the line. He broke back in that critical seventh game. Fittingly, both players held to bring about another tiebreaker. This one was essentially for all the marbles. Both men had chances. But Tsitsipas squandered his openings while Rublev exploded his.

Tsitsipas led 4-2, only to drop the next three points. Rublev drilled a backhand pass up the line to force an errant volley from Tsitsipas, and so the Russian served at 6-5 with a set point on his delivery. A magnificent return into the corner from Tsitsipas provoked an error from Rublev. Tsitsipas took the next point, and now served at 7-6 with a set point of his own. But caution cost him dearly here. A poorly executed backhand slice from Tsitsipas allowed Rublev to attack, and the Greek player lobbed long.

Rublev took the following point with a cagey soft backhand chip pass, drawing a netted open-court, backhand volley from Tsitsipas. The Russian followed with an unstoppable first serve down the T, building a two-sets-to-one lead. Tsitsipas was spent. The cramping was apparent by the sixth game of the fourth set. But he fought on valiantly, creating seven break point opportunities before losing an agonizing six-deuce game.

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

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It was 3-3. Tsitsipas could not conceal his pain. After four deuces, he lost his serve in the seventh game before Rublev moved to 5-3. Serving for the match two games later, the Russian flagrantly choked, starting with a pair of double faults. He was broken for 5-5. Tsitsipas advanced to 30-0 in the 11th game but the cramping crippled him here. He conceded four points in a row. Serving for the match a second time, Rublev did not falter, holding at 15, closing out the account unhesitatingly.

For Tsitsipas, the season at the majors ends on a sour and poignant note. Having started 2019 robustly by ousting Roger Federer en route to his first semifinal at a major in Melbourne, he fell in a gut-wrenching five setter against Stan Wawrinka at Roland Garros, bowed out in the first round of Wimbledon, and struggled inordinately all through the summer despite a semifinal showing in Washington. He will surely recover his winning ways some time over the autumn, but this is a summer he would like to permanently erase from his memory.

As for Rublev, the 2017 US Open quarterfinalist is unmistakably playing the game much more on his own terms again. His win over Federer in the third round of Cincinnati was a resurgent moment and now he would like to begin realizing his full potential. There is no reason why he should not conclude this season among the Top 20 in the world. And the next time he plays Tsitsipas on a big occasion, it won’t be in the first round; these two will inevitably be meeting in the latter stages at the premier tournaments in 2020 and beyond.

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

In a physical US Open test, Andrey Rublev outshines Stefanos Tsitsipas

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