Russia’s Andrey Rublev reacts after winning the final match against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego at the ATP tennis tournament in Vienna, Austria, on November 1, 2020. (Photo by Joe Klamar / AFP)
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 starts on November 15, being held in London for the final time.
“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.