Russia’s Andrey Rublev defeated Corentin Moutet of France 6-2, 7-6 (7/3) to win the Qatar Open title on Saturday for a third career trophy and a place in the world top 20 for the first time.
Rublev, 22, and ranked 23, dominated his world No 81 opponent who had stunned top seed and three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the semi-finals.
“There is still much to work on, but I’m happy to become a top 20 player,” said Rublev. “I think this is a good part of me, that I still have a lot of space to improve. I want to try to arrive to my maximum and then we’ll see what’s going to happen.”
Second seed Rublev, the 2018 runner-up in Doha, won his previous titles at Umag in 2017 and on home ground in Moscow last year.
“It’s amazing. I’m always really happy to play here. I always enjoy my time here and to finally win the title is something special for me,” Rublev said. “It’s an amazing start to the season for me and I hope I can keep this level.”
Rublev is guaranteed to become the third Russian in the top 20 next week when he will join fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov, the number 17.
Moutet, who came through qualifying in Doha, will crack the top 75 for the first time.