Andrey Rublev has secured his spot for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fourth consecutive year with his 7-5 6-3 win over Matteo Arnaldi after 1 hour and 30 minutes at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
Rublev won his first service game at love. Arnaldi saved four break points in the second game to hold serve after four deuces with a drop-shot. Rublev saved a break point in the seventh game with a service winner.
Rublev earned a set point with a forehand winner at 5-4, but Arnaldi saved it with his serve.
Rublev created two more second set points at 6-5 30-30 on return. Arnaldi saved the first chance with an ace, but Rublev broke serve for the first time on his second set point after 48 minutes, after Arnaldi hit a volley into the net.
Rublev went up a set and a break in the second game with a lob to open up a 2-0 lead. Arnaldi saved a double break point in the sixth game for 2-4. Rublev served out the win on his first match point.
Rublev set up a quarter final match against Alexander Zverev, who has extended his winning streak in Vienna to seven consecutive matches. Zverev leads 5-2 in his head-to-head series against Rublev, but the Russian player beat his German rival in his previous two matches in the Dubai semifinal and in the Bastad quarter final.
Rublev improved his record to 52-21, as he is chasing his third title of the season and the first on hard courts.
Rublev becomes the fifth player to earn his spot for the season finale at the Alpitour in Turin after Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Danil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner.
Rublev reached the 50-wins mark for the third consecutive year. The Russian player claimed the first ATP Masters 1000 title of his career in Monte-Carlo and the ATP title in Bastad. He also reached four more finals in Dubai, Banja Luka, Halle and Shanghai and is tied for his career-high Ranking of world number 5.
Last year Rublev reached the semifinals at the ATP Finals for the first time after two wins over Danil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. He lost to He is 4-6 in his previous three appearances at the ATP Finals.
“It feels great. It’s great news. After the match I did not know that I would win the match I would qualify for sure, so I did not know that and it was a great feeling. Looking forward to it and happy to be part of the Nitto ATP Finals for more year”, said Rublev.
