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Rublev Claims Fifth Title Of 2020 In Vienna

Can anyone stop Andrey Rublev’s incredible run of form?

The red-hot Russian beat Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday after one hour and 19 minutes to win the Erste Bank Open, lifting his ATP Tour-leading fifth title of the season. The 23-year-old is now tied with World No. 1 Novak Djokovic atop the 2020 match wins leaderboard with 39.

“This tournament is really special for me because my grandma was also Austrian, so I have Austrian blood,” Rublev said during the trophy ceremony. “It’s a really special title for me.”

2020 Match Wins Leaderboard

With the Vienna title, Rublev has qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. There is only one singles spot remaining at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

This was the second title of the year Rublev earned without losing a set (Doha). Perhaps even more impressively, the Russian did not get broken in 38 service games. The last player to lift a trophy without dropping serve was Alex de Minaur in Atlanta last year (42 service games).

2020 ATP Tour Titles Leaderboard

Sonego had only been broken twice entering the final, but Rublev wasted little time making the Italian pay for a short sloppy patch. At 2-2 in the opening set, the lucky loser made back-to-back uncharacteristic forehand errors to give Rublev the break, and the fifth seed never looked back.

Rublev saved two break points when serving for the opening set, staving off one of those chances with a daring second serve. Sonego battled hard in the second set, continuously trying to pump himself up and going after his shots to keep Rublev from running away with the victory. But a critical crosscourt backhand error at 4-4 did in the World No. 42.

Rublev has won 19 of his past 20 matches and owns a 15-match winning streak at ATP 500s. Since the ATP Tour restarted in August, he has triumphed in Hamburg, St. Petersburg and now Vienna. The champion leaves Austria with 500 FedEx ATP Ranking points and €105,240. 

Sonego had a dream week, despite falling short of the trophy. The lucky loser, who replaced Diego Schwartzman in the draw, earned the biggest win of his career in the quarter-finals against Djokovic and backed it up with an impressive victory against tricky Brit Daniel Evans in the last four. The Italian earned 300 points and €85,000.

“This was one of the best tournaments of this year. It was an amazing final for me,” Sonego said. “I like Vienna and thank you for all the support.”

Did You Know?
Rublev is the first Russian to win five ATP Tour titles in the season since Nikolay Davydenko in 2009. Davydenko played 23 tournaments that year, finishing it off by lifting the trophy at the Nitto ATP Finals. The Erste Bank Open was Rublev’s 12th tournament of 2020.

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Rublev Secures First-Time Qualification To Nitto ATP Finals After Career-Best 2020 Season

Andrey Rublev has qualified for the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after he captured an ATP Tour-best fifth title in 2020 on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open title in Vienna. The Russian, who is the seventh singles player to secure his spot, will join Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, compatriot Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The 23-year-old Rublev is the fifth Russian singles player to qualify in the 50-year history of the Nitto ATP Finals, following in the footsteps of 1997 runner-up Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1995-2001), Marat Safin (2000, ’02, ’04), 2009 champion Nikolay Davydenko (2005-09) and Medvedev (2019-20). Russia is the only country with two singles qualifiers in the 2020 field.

“Of course, it’s an amazing feeling. [I’m excited] to play the last year in London, to see the stage and to feel this atmosphere,” Rublev said. “It’s an amazing feeling to play there in the last year [at The O2], so I will do my best there and we’ll see. It’s going to be a great experience for me to see what I need to improve to be able to compete with the top eight players. I’m looking forward to it.”

Rublev has enjoyed a career-best season in 2020, lifting an ATP Tour-best five trophies. Rublev started the year by becoming the first man since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004 to win two trophies in the first two weeks of the season, lifting silverware at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Moutet) and the Adelaide International (d. Harris) in January. He has also won three ATP 500 titles at the Hamburg European Open (d. Tsitsipas) in September, the St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric) last month, and in Vienna (d. Sonego). In Grand Slam play, Rublev rallied from 0-2 sets down for the first time in his career to defeat Sam Querrey en route to the Roland Garros quarter-finals (l. to Tsitsipas) and reached the last eight at the US Open for a second time (l. to Medvedev).

Having started a reduced 2020, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, at No. 23 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Rublev broke into the Top 10 for the first time on 12 October. He attained a career-high of No. 8 on 19 October and currently has a 39-7 match record.

Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last month, is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals at No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, with just two tournaments — the Rolex Paris Masters and the Sofia Open — left in the regular ATP Tour season.

In doubles, Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, and John Peers and Michael Venus are close to securing their team berths in London. Australian Open titlists Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram, US Open champions Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, Roland Garros winners Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, and Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have already secured their places in the 2020 field.

In line with UK Government guidance, the 2020 season finale is being planned behind closed doors due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nitto ATP Finals, featuring the best eight singles players and doubles teams, has been held in London since 2009 and has successfully established itself as one of the major annual sporting events worldwide. The tournament is broadcast in more than 180 territories with global viewership reaching an average of 95 million each year. The event will be held in Turin, Italy, from 2021-2025.

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Vienna Open: Britain's Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski lose in final

Britain’s Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski are beaten in straight sets by Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo in the men’s doubles final at the Vienna Open.

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London Push: Kubot/Melo Win Third Vienna Team Title

Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo earned a critical win in the FedEx ATP Battle For London on Sunday, defeating Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski 7-6(5), 7-5 to win the Erste Bank Open title.

“It was a very tight match. We knew it would be. They are such a great team,” Melo said. “I think we managed to play as we have been playing since the beginning of the tournament and it was very good. I think the match was decided point-by-point, a couple no-Ads here and there. But I think experiencing all this good energy from Vienna made us get another title.”

Kubot and Melo began the week in 11th place in the Battle, but their triumph put them into eighth as they try to earn one of the four remaining qualifying places at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The third seeds were broken in their first service game of the match and they failed to serve for the championship at 5-3 in the second set, but they ultimately prevailed after one hour and 55 minutes. In addition to the important 500 points they earned, Kubot and Melo depart Austria with €40,500 to split.

“[This is a] very special place for us. It was another very good week here,” Kubot said. “We are very happy to end it that way and we are looking forward to going to the Masters [1000] in Paris. We are happy with the result we have done and we’ll keep going.”

Murray and Skupski, who began the week in ninth place in the Battle, were trying to win their first ATP Tour title together. Skupski won the 2018 Vienna title alongside Joe Salisbury. The Brits earned 300 points, helping them move into seventh place in the Battle. They will share €32,190 in prize money.

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Millman Earns Maiden Title In Nur-Sultan

Throughout his career, John Millman has experienced many great moments on a tennis court. But the Australian made a major career breakthrough at the Astana Open in Nur-Sultan on Sunday.

The 31-year-old overcame Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-1 to capture his maiden ATP Tour title in his third tour-level championship match. Millman played his best tennis in critical moments, as he saved all six break points he faced and broke serve on three occasions.

“It is incredible. I am so happy and relieved,” said Millman. “I just feel very satisfied. It is just a pure moment of satisfaction… That was my third final, third time lucky I guess. These things aren’t easy to win and to do so at a place where I felt so comfortable all week, in terms of the hospitality, makes it really special. To win the inaugural Astana Open is special. I am so happy. It has been a big team effort and I am pumped.”

Millman extended his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against Mannarino to 3-0 after one hour and 48 minutes to become the fifth first-time champion on the ATP Tour in 2020. The fourth seed joins Ugo Humbert, Casper Ruud, Thiago Seyboth Wild and Miomir Kecmanovic on the list.

Millman also became the fifth player in 2020 to win an ATP Tour crown after saving match point(s) en route to the trophy. In his quarter-final against Tommy Paul, the World No. 45 saved two match points at 3-5 in the third set and rallied from 0/5 down in a final-set tie-break to beat the American 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(5).

2020 Champions To Save Match Point

Mannarino was appearing in his 10th ATP Tour championship match (1-9). The Frenchman advanced to the final in Nur-Sultan with straight-sets wins against Yuichi Sugita, Mackenzie McDonald and Emil Ruusuvuori.

“If I knew before coming here that I would play the final, I would be happy with that result,” said Mannarino. “I am pretty disappointed with how I managed the final, especially with my emotions, but overall this is still a good week. Congratulations to John who really played tough today, he was fighting so well and he deserved the title.”

Millman was put under pressure late in the first set, but he attacked Mannarino’s backhand and served well to save five break points. The Australian used his forehand to earn his first break point at 6-5 and ripped a backhand winner down the line to take his opportunity.

From 1-1 in the second set, Millman claimed five straight games to charge to the title. The Brisbane native continued to play aggressively with his backhand and attacked his opponent’s backhand to extract a series of errors.

“I thought Adrian was playing great in that first set… Whenever you play Adrian Mannarino, it is always going to be a physical match,” said Millman. “He makes you work for every point and he is so stingy with his errors. You have to be so low and moving really well because his ball is not really getting up. He is a really good indoor hard court player.

”I had to fight off those early break points and I really managed to win that first set against the momentum of the match. After that, I saw the finish line was in sight. That was really pivotal, to fight off those break points and take that one opportunity at the end of the first set. With that, I managed to carry the momentum throughout the match.”

Millman earned 250 FedEx ATP Rankings points and $13,410. Mannarino collected 150 points and $11,210.

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Gille/Vliegen Lift First Trophy Of 2020 In Nur-Sultan

Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen captured their first title of the season at the Astana Open on Sunday with a 7-5, 6-3 victory against Max Purcell and Luke Saville.

The top seeds landed 11 aces and saved both break points they faced to claim the trophy after 78 minutes. Gille and Vliegen, who were appearing in their first final in 13 months, improved to 15-14 this season.

“It has been a short year with some ups and downs, but I think we can be very happy about our level,” said Vliegen. “We switched sides just before the restart, so we knew it was going to take some time and [the change] would not be giving us titles right away.

“We are very happy with the level we showed this week here in Kazakhstan, playing with a lot of confidence. I think we did a lot of things right, so we are very happy.”

The Belgians did not drop a set en route to the trophy. Prior to their final triumph, Gille and Vliegen also earned straight-sets wins against Mackenzie McDonald and Tommy Paul in the first round and Marcelo Arevalo and Tomislav Brkic in the semi-finals.

Gille and Vliegen improved to 4-1 in tour-level championship matches. The pair reached its first four ATP Tour finals last year and won titles in Båstad, Gstaad and Zhuhai.

“I am very proud [of our finals record]. It was something that I was thinking about before the match,” said Gille. “I think last year we just did really well and then to have three titles in the bag already made me a lot less stressed today… I had a really nice feeling before the match and then you start it feeling good, feeling loose. To end the match winning again, getting the fourth [trophy], is just a great feeling.”

Purcell and Saville were attempting to lift their first ATP Tour trophy as a team. The Australians reached their first tour-level final as a pair at the Australian Open in February (l. to Ram/Salisbury). Purcell and Saville are bidding to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals — to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November — for the first time.

Gille and Vliegen earn 250 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points and share $6,080 in prize money. Purcell and Saville earn 150 points and split $5,040.

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Kubot/Melo Continue Surge For London

Entering the week Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, who have qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals as a team in three consecutive years, appeared in danger of missing a spot at the season finale, to be held in London from 15-22 November. But the Polish-Brazilian pair, which was in 11th place in the FedEx ATP Battle For London, is surging at the perfect time.

Kubot and Melo beat two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 on Saturday to reach the final of the Erste Bank Open. If the 2015 and 2016 Vienna champions add a third team title at the Austrian ATP 500, they will jump into one of the last four qualifying spot heading into the Rolex Paris Masters.

Kubot and Melo will face Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski for the title. The only previous ATP Head2Head meetings between the teams came at last year’s Winston-Salem Open, where Kubot and Melo triumphed 6-2, 6-3. The 500 FedEx ATP Doubles Ranking points that go to the winner could prove critical, as both teams are battling for a spot at The O2. By reaching the final, Murray and Skupski are into seventh place as they pursue their first Nitto ATP Finals qualifications as a tandem.

Kubot and Melo trailed Krawietz and Mies 5/7 in the Match Tie-break, but they won five of the final six points to advance after one hour and 27 minutes. The third seeds saved nine of the 10 break points they faced.

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Vienna Open: Dan Evans loses to Lorenzo Sonego in semi-finals

Britain’s Dan Evans loses to Italian lucky loser Lorenzo Sonego in the semi-finals of the Vienna Open.

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Sonego Backs Up Djokovic Win, Earns Shot At Vienna Title

Lorenzo Sonego earned what he called, “the best victory of my life” on Friday against Novak Djokovic. His confidence showed on Saturday, when the World No. 42 played impressive tennis to reach the Erste Bank Open final.

The Italian, competing in his first ATP 500 semi-final in Vienna, defeated British No. 1 Daniel Evans 6-3, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes to set a final clash against red-hot Russian Andrey Rublev.

“I’m really happy,” Sonego said in his on-court interview. “After yesterday it was not easy playing against Evans because he has a good talent. He has a good backhand and it was not easy. But today I won and I am so happy.”

The 25-year-old lost in the final round of qualifying against Aljaz Bedene six days ago, but he entered the draw as a lucky loser when Diego Schwartzman withdrew. Sonego is the first lucky loser to reach the Vienna final since home favourite Andreas Haider-Maurer in 2010.

“It’s amazing. I started this tournament [by losing] in the qualies. It’s not easy after losing my [qualifying] match to win four matches and now I got to the final,” Sonego said. “I don’t have any expectations. I go with confidence and I [will] try to do my best tomorrow.”

Sonego had never previously played Evans, but he managed to outsmart one of the best tacticians on the ATP Tour. The Briton has eight Top 20 victories this season, many of which he has earned by getting players out of their comfort zone with his intelligent use of angles and spins. 

But Sonego set the tone with big hitting early to prevent Evans from finding his own rhythm, and the Italian consistently used his forehand drop shot throughout the match to keep his 30-year-old opponent off balance. Entering this event, Sonego had lost 10 consecutive tour-level matches on hard courts.

“This week I’ve improved my tennis for sure. I improved my return, my serve,” Sonego said. “I worked so hard and now I have the confidence to win this match and the experience. I needed to [get] some experience.”

Evans attempted to shake things up as the match wore on, even throwing in serve-and-volley attempts and charging the net early in points. But Sonego had an answer for everything Evans threw at him, winning 78 per cent of his service points and breaking serve three times to triumph.

Sonego will meet Rublev for the first time in their ATP Head2Head series on Sunday. Rublev is pursuing his fifth ATP Tour title of the season, while Sonego is trying to lift the second tour-level trophy of his career.

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Red-Hot Rublev's Roll Continues Into Vienna Final

The Andrey Rublev train is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The red-hot Russian was leading Kevin Anderson 6-4, 4-1 on Saturday when the two-time Grand Slam finalist retired due to a right leg injury. Rublev advanced to the Erste Bank Open final and he has now won 18 of his past 19 matches. The World No. 8 will play for an ATP Tour-leading fifth title of the season in Vienna.

“I don’t know why it’s going so well. I have such an amazing team, such amazing friends around me that always support me and probably that’s why I’m playing so good,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “I came here thinking that I have nothing to lose. I already did a really great season, so I came here to enjoy, to do my best, to fight for every point, every match, and now here I am in the final. I want to keep thinking in the same way and we’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

The fifth seed, who eliminated defending champion Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, has not dropped a set this week, nor has he lost any of his 28 service games. Rublev has won two ATP 500 titles since the ATP Tour restarted in August and he will play Daniel Evans or Lorenzo Sonego for a third.

“I was not even thinking about it,” Rublev said. “I’m serving really well this week, so we’ll see. You never know what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

Anderson struggled with his second serve early, hitting double faults on his first three second-serve points. The South African, who upset Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, competed well from the baseline to hang with Rublev. But on the Russian’s third set point in the first set, Anderson hit his fifth double fault to give the Russian the set.

After one game in the second set, Anderson took an injury timeout to have his upper right leg examined. Immediately following that he got broken, missing a forehand approach shot into the net. At 4-1, Anderson decided he could not continue. This was his first ATP Tour semi-final since winning January 2019 when he triumphed in Pune.

Two spots remain in the singles field at the Nitto ATP Finals, and Rublev is next in line to qualify. The Russian is pushing for his first berth into the season finale, which will take place from 15-22 November at The O2 in London.

Did You Know?
Rublev has not lost a final this season (4-0). He began the season with two ATP Tour titles.

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