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Anderson saves three match points

It was a mixed day for Nitto ATP Finals contenders at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna on Monday, as Andrey Rublev cruised through to the second round and Denis Shapovalov exited the tournament with a straight-sets loss.

In the opening match of the evening session, Rublev added a 35th win to his 2020 total with a 6-3, 6-2 victory against Norbert Gombos. The Russian, who owns a 35-7 record in 2020, struck 11 aces and converted three of four break points to advance to the second round in one hour. #NextGenATP Austrian Jurij Rodionov eliminated eighth seed Shapovalov 6-4, 7-5 in the final match of the day.

Rublev is chasing his third ATP 500 crown and fifth overall title of the year. The World No. 8 has already picked up trophies at the 500-level in Hamburg and St. Petersburg this season.

”I was really lucky to start [well] from the beginning, it gave me more confidence,” said Rublev in an on-court interview. “Each game, I was playing better and better. At the end of the match, I finished with a good level.”


Rublev is in pole position to claim one of two remaining qualification spots at the Nitto ATP Finals in London. The fifth seed will need to reach the semi-finals in Vienna to add to his FedEx ATP Battle For London total this week. Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev have already qualified for the elite eight-man event, which will be held at The O2 from 15-22 November.

”I have no expectations at all [in Vienna]. Just to give my best in every match and we will see what happens,” said Rublev. “I did already a really great season, so [there is] nothing to lose.”

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Shapovalov’s hopes of joining Rublev in the second round and boosting his chances of qualifying for London were ended by Rodionov, who converted three of four break points and won 12 of 17 net points to mark a memorable debut appearance in Vienna.

Rodionov has captured two ATP Challenger Tour trophies this year (Dallas, Morelos) and recently claimed his first tour-level win at Roland Garros. The 6’3” left-hander dropped just two points behind his second serve in the second set (10/12) to stay ahead in the score and the pressure told when Shapovalov served to stay in the match at 5-6. The Canadian, currently in 12th position in the FedEx ATP Battle For London, committed four errors — including two doubles faults — to exit the tournament.


Kevin Anderson saved three consecutive match points to claim his 10th tournament victory in Vienna (10-4). The 2018 champion trailed 3/6 in the final-set tie-break, but reeled off five straight points to overcome Dennis Novak in two hours and 44 minutes.

Anderson will meet World No. 15 Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round. The US Open semi-finalist was leading Gael Monfils 6-1, 2-0, when the Frenchman was forced to retire due to a neck injury.

Borna Coric extended his unbeaten ATP Head2Head record against Taylor Fritz to 4-0 on Monday. The 23-year-old saved all three break points he faced to earn a 6-4, 6-4 win and improved to 15-10 this year. Coric will face World No. 1 Novak Djokovic or Filip Krajinovic in the second round.

Russian to face Anderson in semi-finals

Andrey Rublev’s hot streak continued on Friday, when the World No. 8 eliminated defending champion Dominic Thiem 7-6(5), 6-2 at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.

The Russian struck 30 winners and saved both break points he faced to take his ATP 500 winning streak to 13 matches after one hour and 34 minutes. Rublev is attempting to capture his third straight trophy at the level, following title runs at the Hamburg European Open and the St. Petersburg Open.

“I came here with the mood that I have nothing to lose,” said Rublev. “I [had] already a really great season. Last year, I already [made] the quarter-finals so I knew it was going to be tough for me to get to the semi-finals.

”I came here with zero expectations, just [wanting] to do my best. To try to fight every match. At the end, I am here in the semi-finals.”


Rublev is through to his fifth semi-final of the year. In each of the previous tournaments where he has reached this stage in 2020, he has gone on to lift the trophy. Rublev improved to 37-7 this year with his second ATP Head2Head win against Thiem (tied at 2-2). Only Novak Djokovic owns more wins at tour-level this year (39-2).

Rublev will face Kevin Anderson for a place in the championship match. The 23-year-old is tied at 1-1 in his ATP Head2Head series against the 2018 champion and won his most recent clash against the South African at Roland Garros earlier this month.

“Last time I played [Kevin] at Roland Garros in completely different conditions. We cannot take that match as an example. Tomorrow is going to be a completely different story,” said Rublev. “It is a fast court, indoors, so he will be really comfortable with his shots, with his serve.

“We will see. Kevin has much more experience than me, so I have nothing to lose. I go there to do my best and we will see what is going to happen.”

Thiem was attempting to extend a winning streak of his own. The US Open champion entered his fourth ATP Head2Head clash against Rublev with an 11-match winning run on home soil. Alongside his Vienna title, Thiem won last year’s Generali Open in Kitzbühel to finish 2019 with a 9-0 record in Austria.

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In a first set dominated by serve, Rublev saved the only two break points of the set with powerful serving at 1-1. Both players battled from the baseline in the tie-break, with just one mini-break deciding the outcome of the set. Rublev, who had moved up to court to fire consecutive forehand winners from 3/4, capitalised on a forehand error from his opponent and claimed the opener in 55 minutes.

“Dominic is one of my best friends on the Tour. It is always tough to play against him because he is one of the best players and one of the best fighters on the Tour,” said Rublev. “I knew that it was going to be really tough. I respect him a lot.

“The first set was really tough for both of us. I think he had a little more chances than me, especially in the tie-break when the score was 4/3. We had two unreal rallies. I won both of them.”

Rublev made an early breakthrough in the second set, as he pushed Thiem into the tramline with an inside-out forehand and struck a forehand winner up the line to break. The Russian doubled his advantage two games later with consistent depth on his returns, which may have contributed towards Thiem’s double fault on break point. Rublev forced a backhand return error from Thiem to convert his second match point.

Russian to play for an ATP Tour-leading fifth title of 2020
The Andrey Rublev train is showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon.

The red-hot Russian was leading Kevin Anderson 6-4, 4-1 on Saturday when the two-time Grand Slam finalist retired due to a right leg injury. Rublev advanced to the Erste Bank Open final and he has now won 18 of his past 19 matches. The World No. 8 will play for an ATP Tour-leading fifth title of the season in Vienna.

“I don’t know why it’s going so well. I have such an amazing team, such amazing friends around me that always support me and probably that’s why I’m playing so good,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “I came here thinking that I have nothing to lose. I already did a really great season, so I came here to enjoy, to do my best, to fight for every point, every match, and now here I am in the final. I want to keep thinking in the same way and we’ll see what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

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The fifth seed, who eliminated defending champion Dominic Thiem in the quarter-finals, has not dropped a set this week, nor has he lost any of his 28 service games. Rublev has won two ATP 500 titles since the ATP Tour restarted in August and he will play Daniel Evans or Lorenzo Sonego for a third.

"I was not even thinking about it," Rublev said. "I'm serving really well this week, so we'll see. You never know what's going to happen tomorrow."

Anderson struggled with his second serve early, hitting double faults on his first three second-serve points. The South African, who upset Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals, competed well from the baseline to hang with Rublev. But on the Russian’s third set point in the first set, Anderson hit his fifth double fault to give the Russian the set.


After one game in the second set, Anderson took an injury timeout to have his upper right leg examined. Immediately following that he got broken, missing a forehand approach shot into the net. At 4-1, Anderson decided he could not continue. This was his first ATP Tour semi-final since winning January 2019 when he triumphed in Pune.

Two spots remain in the singles field at the Nitto ATP Finals, and Rublev is next in line to qualify. The Russian is pushing for his first berth into the season finale, which will take place from 15-22 November at The O2 in London.

Did You Know?
Rublev has not lost a final this season (4-0). He began the season with two ATP Tour titles.

One singles place left at season finale with Paris and Sofia to play

Andrey Rublev has qualified for the 2020 Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after he captured an ATP Tour-best fifth title in 2020 on Sunday at the Erste Bank Open title in Vienna. The Russian, who is the seventh singles player to secure his spot, will join Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, compatriot Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev at the season finale, to be held at The O2 in London from 15-22 November.

The 23-year-old Rublev is the fifth Russian singles player to qualify in the 50-year history of the Nitto ATP Finals, following in the footsteps of 1997 runner-up Yevgeny Kafelnikov (1995-2001), Marat Safin (2000, ’02, ’04), 2009 champion Nikolay Davydenko (2005-09) and Medvedev (2019-20). Russia is the only country with two singles qualifiers in the 2020 field.

Rublev has enjoyed a career-best season in 2020, lifting an ATP Tour-best five trophies. Rublev started the year by becoming the first man since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004 to win two trophies in the first two weeks of the season, lifting silverware at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha (d. Moutet) and the Adelaide International (d. Harris) in January. He has also won three ATP 500 titles at the Hamburg European Open (d. Tsitsipas) in September, the St. Petersburg Open (d. Coric) last month, and in Vienna (d. Sonego). In Grand Slam play, Rublev rallied from 0-2 sets down for the first time in his career to defeat Sam Querrey en route to the Roland Garros quarter-finals (l. to Tsitsipas) and reached the last eight at the US Open for a second time (l. to Medvedev).

Having started a reduced 2020, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, at No. 23 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, Rublev broke into the Top 10 for the first time on 12 October. He attained a career-high of No. 8 on 19 October and currently has a 39-7 match record.

Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman, a semi-finalist at Roland Garros last month, is next in line to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals at No. 9 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, with just two tournaments — the Rolex Paris Masters and the Sofia Open — left in the regular ATP Tour season.

In doubles, Wesley Koolhof and Nikola Mektic, and John Peers and Michael Venus are close to securing their team berths in London. Australian Open titlists Joe Salisbury and Rajeev Ram, US Open champions Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares, Roland Garros winners Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, and Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have already secured their places in the 2020 field.

In line with UK Government guidance, the 2020 season finale is being planned behind closed doors due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The Nitto ATP Finals, featuring the best eight singles players and doubles teams, has been held in London since 2009 and has successfully established itself as one of the major annual sporting events worldwide. The tournament is broadcast in more than 180 territories with global viewership reaching an average of 95 million each year. The event will be held in Turin, Italy, from 2021-2025.