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Andrey Rublev is the winner of this year’s Erste Bank Open. The Russian also did not give up a set in the final and defeated Lorenzo Sonego 6: 4 and 6: 4. It is already the fifth title of the season for the Russian.
by Michael Rothschädl
Last edit: November 01, 2020, 3:52 PM
By Michael Rothschädl of the Wiener Stadthalle
Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Sonego were the last players left in the strong field of participants at the Erste Bank Open 2020. While the Russian was not entirely surprising in the Vienna final due to his strong performances in recent weeks, the fact that that was there was I should meet the Italian Sonego, a sensation.
Lorenzo Sonego had become the crowd favorite at the Wiener Stadthalle due to his good performances and, above all, the victory over Novak Djokovic, and the stands supported him strongly at the start of his second final. However, it was the favorite Rublev who should mark the first accents in this final. The 23-year-old benefited from two avoidable forehand errors by the Italian when the score was 2: 2 and got the break.
Rublev brings the first round
For a long time, the young Russian performed flawlessly with his own serve, but when Rublev served to win the set, his nerves got a bit shaken and Sonego came out of nowhere twice on the rebreak. Even in this pressure situation, the world number eight remained offensive, was able to defend himself from both opportunities and after exactly 36 minutes he came in with a strong net advance to win the set.
Rublev, who had not lost a single set in the entire tournament, also demonstrated those virtues in this final that had made him almost invincible in recent weeks. The Russian could always rely on his strong serve and dictated the game from the baseline with his powerful forehand. Lorenzo Sonego, on the other hand, was unable to take full advantage of the excellent performance of the last few days and eventually made one or two more mistakes.
Rublev’s fifth title of the season, first in Vienna
As in the first round, Andrey Rublev was able to increase the pressure on the server Sonego in the fifth game of the second set. The Russian couldn’t use a break ball. With his own serve, the 23-year-old, who did not suffer a single break throughout the tournament, remained sovereign, leaving Sonego not even close to a break opportunity. When the score was 4: 4, the Russian went back up a gear, got three break balls with strong returns, of which he knew how to use the second. With another game of sovereign service, the world number eight was crowned champion of Vienna for the first time after exactly one hour and 18 minutes.
“Many thanks to the organizers, who organized the tournament superbly. That means a lot to us players,” said the Russian in his speech to the winner. “Of course, I would also like to thank all the fans for their great support throughout the week.” His grandmother was also Austrian, so it was a very special tournament for him. “It is a very special title for me.”
Andrey Rublev has already won his fifth title this season. The Russian was able to win the last three ATP 500 tournaments in which he started and now travels as a co-favorite to the ATP Masters 1000 event in Paris-Bercy, where he is number five in the race. I will go. In addition, the world number eight has already officially qualified for the ATP finals of the eight best players of the season.
