An emotional Girgor Dimitrov struggled to hold back the tears after capturing his first title in almost six years at the Brisbane International.
Dimitrov, who is currently ranked 14th in the world, ousted top seed Holger Rune 7-6(5), 6-4, to win his first singles trophy since the 2017 ATP Finals in London. The Bulgarian didn’t drop his serve throughout the final as he fired eight aces and won 77% of his first service points. He has become only the second man to have won Brisbane on multiple occasions after Andy Murray who was the only player to take a set off him in this year’s tournament. The first time he won the title was back in 2017.
“My love affair started 11 years ago here in Brisbane and it continues,” Dimitrov said.
“I’m very thankful that I’m still able to stand in front of you guys and lift that trophy again, it means a lot to me for many different reasons.”
The latest victory is the seventh time Dimitrov has beaten a top 20 player on the Tour since the conclusion of last year’s US Open. Besides Rune, he also scored wins over Jordan Thompson, Rinky Hijikata, Daniel Altmaier and Murray. So far in his career, he has won 23 matches in Brisbane which is a tournament record for a male player.
Although Dimitrov’s latest win is perhaps the sweetest of them all with it bringing an end to his title drought. His latest triumph occurred 2240 days after he won the ATP Finals in 2017.
“It’s been a while since I’ve held one of these, sorry (I’m) a little emotional,” he said during the trophy presentation.
“It’s difficult to describe things in words. I just want to start with Holger. Were played (against each other) multiple times and practised against each other. You’ve been able to achieve so much in your short career. I know it’s not the result you wanted but the future is bright for you.”
The 32-year-old has now won nine ATP titles so far in his career and earned more than $25M in prize money.
Rublev comes out on top in Hong Kong
Embed from Getty ImagesElsewhere, Andrey Rublev is another player to start his season with a title after winning the Hong Kong Open. The top seed beat Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 6-4, 6-4, in less than 90 minutes. Rublev broke his opponent twice during the match and won 74% of his service points.
“It’s an amazing feeling. To win a title is always a feeling that you are addicted to and to start a season with a title is something special. I couldn’t have had a better week…..I’m really happy,” Rublev said during his on-court interview.
“With a happy feeling, I will go to Melbourne to have a week of practice and then we will start the Australian Open.”
The triumph is a case of sweet revenge for the Russian who lost to Ruusuvuori at the Cincinnati Masters last August. Since then, he hasn’t lost to another player ranked outside the world’s top 50.
Rublev’s run to his 15th Tour title also saw him beat Liam Broady, Arthur Fils, and Shang Juncheng. 10 of his titles have been won on a hardcourt.
“In general I think I played at a great level all week. I’m happy with my performance and the level that I showed,” he evaluated of his performance.
This week is the first time Hong Kong has held an ATP event since 2002.
