ONE of the ATP Tour’s next big things in Andrey Rublev has continued his ripping form of the past 12 months to claim the first ATP Tour title of 2020. The 22-year-old Russian entered the top 20 for the first time with the Qatar Open title, downing world number 81 Frenchman, Corentin Moutet 6-2 7-6.

While Moutet showed he could match it with the world’s best – taking down Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in the semi-final, it was Rublev who took control in the opening set, before it became a titanic struggle in the second set. It took Rublev 86 minutes to finally shake off the determined Frenchman in a 7-3 tiebreak, to claim the title and build form ahead of the Australian Open. The first serve points won was the crucial difference between the pair with Rublev winning an impressive 77 per cent compared to his opponents’ 54 per cent, while breaking three times to one – which came in the seventh game of the second set – throughout the match.

It was also evident that the 20-year-old Moutet was frustrated with some antics that included smashing a ball miles into the sky and kicking his racquet. With rain delays impacting the draw, more comfortable two-set wins helped Rublev be fresher than his opponent who had to battle hard to overcome the likes of Wawrinka and experienced campaigner, Fernando Verdasco on his way to the final. While he praised his opponent at the end, it was evident the stretched-out week and particularly three games in close proximity had got to him.

The tournament was a massive success for the Russian, who did not drop a set throughout. With rain delays impacting the draw, more comfortable two-set wins helped Rublev be fresher than his opponent who had to battle hard to overcome the likes of Wawrinka and experienced campaigner, Fernando Verdasco on his way to the final. Now Rublev joins the majority of the ATP Tour down under, entering at Adelaide where he is the third seed and will have an opening round bye before playing the winner of Sam Querrey and a qualifier. Moutet looks set to head to the Australian Open after a challenging and tiring week, earning a main draw spot having lost in the first round of qualifying 12 months ago.