There were two Russians out of the eight players in the running, there will be one in the last four, but not necessarily the one we expected.
Daniil Medvedev, winner in 2020 and runner-up last year, lost three times in three matches in the Red group where Rublev, who had never left the pools in his two previous appearances, beat his compatriot before losing heavily against Novak Djokovic and winning the knockout match against Tsitsipas.
At 25, Rublev has 12 titles to his name, including four this year, and if he has reached 5th in the world, he is aiming for his finest trophy in Turin.
He reached two Masters 1000 finals in 2021 (Monte-Carlo and Cincinnati) and played six Grand Slam quarter-finals.
In the first set on Friday, Tsitsipas earned the break to lead 3-1 and won the set without ever conceding a break point.
He did not concede until the eighth game of the second set.
But there, Rublev had two opportunities and seized the second to break (5-3) and equalize at one set everywhere on his next face-off.
And it was again the Russian who took the lead in the decisive set by lining up three consecutive games, including a break, to lead 3-1.
Then Tsitsipas offered him a double break on a double fault (the second of the game) and Rublev served for the match at 5-2, without being asked to conclude the game.