Fourth seed Nikoloz Basilashvili has defended his title at the European Open in Hamburg after wearing down Russia’s Andrey Rublev in a three-set battle on Sunday.
Basilashvili, who won his first ATP title in the city 12 months ago, withstood some stern defence from his opponent to prevail 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, after more than two hours of play. In what was the second meeting between the two on the tour this season, the Georgian player produced 38 winners and broke Rublev four times during the final.
“It’s unbelievable, especially for an ATP 500 tournament. I’m really pleased to have won it (Hamburg) for the second time and back-to-back.” Basilashvili said during his on-court interview.
The roller coaster clash saw numerous changes of momentum between the two. During the opener there was an exchange of breaks before Basilashvili managed to wear down the Rublev serve at the most crucial time. Leading 6-5, he prevailed on his fourth set point opportunity after a shot from the Russian player drifted beyond the baseline. Triggering Rublev to slam his racket onto the ground out of anger.
Despite clinching the lead, a lacklustre Basilashvili service game that featured a series of double faults midway through the second set cost him dearly. Enabling his rival to break and force proceedings into a decider. Reviving Rublev’s hopes of claiming the biggest trophy in his career to date.
Fortunately for Basilashvili, he managed to regain his focus in the match with the help of more blistering shot-making with an array of clean winners. In the end he broke Rublev two consecutive times in the final set before closing the match out with a love service claim to win his third ATP Trophy.
“It looks like this is my favourite tournament. I’m 12-0 in matches played here so for sure it is my best tournament.” The two-time champion commented.
“The atmosphere is unbelievable and hopefully I will come back here again and play. “
There is also reason for Rublev to celebrate too after his week in Hamburg, where he stunned top seed Dominic Thiem in the semi-finals. Over the past year the 21-year-old has been troubled by various injury issues. Missing three months of the tour last year due to a back problem and six weeks this season with a wrist injury.
“It’s always disappointing to lose in the finals, but it’s part of the game and this is normal. I have to deal with that.” Said Rublev.
“At the moment this is my best week. It was my first ATP 500 final.’
“Hopefully we (my team) can keep working this way and improve so I can be more consistent and show better results.”
Basilashvili is the first player to defend the Hamburg Open title since Roger Federer back in 2005. He exits the tournament with 500 ATP ranking points and €354,845 in prize money.
