Andrey Rublev collects ninth tour title at Marseille
FILE PHOTO: Tennis – ATP 500 – Rotterdam Open – Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands – February 12, 2022 Russia’s Andrey Rublev in action during his semi final match against Canada’s Felix Auger Aliassime REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw
Russia’s Andrey Rublev avenged last week’s loss to Felix Auger-Aliassime, defeating the Canadian 7-5, 7-6 (4) to win the championship of the Open 13 Provence on Sunday in Marseille, France.
It was the first ATP Tour win for the second-seeded Rublev since March 2021 and his ninth overall. The 24-year-old has thrived in the finals of indoor hard-court tournaments, moving to 5-0.
Rublev battled back from an early break in the first set against Auger-Aliassime, the No. 3 seed. In the second set, Rublev failed to serve for the win leading 5-4 and then had to fight off a set point in the 12th game to force a tiebreaker in the match, which lasted one hour, 57 minutes.
Auger-Aliassime beat Rublev last week in the semifinals en route to winning his first title at Rotterdam. Rublev, No. 7 in the world, improved to 3-1 in his career against Auger-Aliassime, ranked No. 9.
Delray Beach Open
Top-seeded Cameron Norrie converted 86 percent of his first-serve points while posting a 7-6 (1), 7-6 (4) victory over second-seeded Reilly Opelka to win the Delray Beach Open in Florida.
The Brit posted seven aces while notching his third career victory. He outperformed the American in both tiebreaks en route to the win.
Opelka delivered 25 aces and saved all five break points he faced. But he won just 13 of 71 service return points (18.3 percent).
