Andrey Rublev eased to victory over Lorenzo Sonego on Sunday in the Vienna final to win his fifth ATP title of the season and secure a spot at the Tour Finals in London.
The Russian cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 win in under an hour and a quarter and has won more ATP tournaments this season than any other player.
“This tournament is really special for me because my grandma was also Austrian, so I have Austrian blood,” Rublev, who reached both the US and French Open quarter-finals this year, said. “It’s a really special title for me.”
He will make his debut at the season-ending Tour Finals, which start on November 15, being held in London for the final time.
2020 for Andrey Rublev:
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) November 1, 2020
5 titles ✔️
15 consecutive ATP-500 wins ✔️
39-7 overall, 19 wins in last 20 ✔️
Top 10 debut ✔️
Qualified for first #NittoATPFinals ✔️
An incredible season just keeps getting better for @AndreyRublev97 pic.twitter.com/YBuUqixo1t
“I’m happy that I will compete in London for the first time. I’m really looking forward (to it),” Rublev added.
“There are still so many things I need to improve and it’s going to be a good challenge for me to see what exactly I need to improve to be at that level, to be able to compete against the top eight players.”
The 23-year-old Rublev won the Vienna event without even dropping serve and was far too strong for Italian lucky loser Sonego, who beat Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.
Only world number one Djokovic has won as many matches as Rublev’s tally of 39 in 2020.
Rublev, ranked eighth, is the first Russian to win five titles in a season since Nikolay Davydenko in 2009.