Rublev Wins Rotterdam • Fourth 500-point Tennis Title in a Row, 20-Match Winning Streak at 500’s

By Ricky Dimon

Andrey Rublev is simply unbeatable at 500-point tournaments.

Rublev kept his 500 streak going by capturing the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title with a 7-6(4), 6-4 victory over Marton Fucsovics in Sunday’s final. The world No. 8 turned in another brilliant performance with 28 winners compared to only 11 unforced errors to triumph after one hour and 50 minutes.

“I’m so happy to win this title and hopefully I will be coming many more years to play here,” Rublev said during the trophy ceremony.

The rest of the tour would be happy if Rublev skipped some tournaments to give them a chance–at least at 500s. The 23-year-old’s current 500 run is up to four consecutive titles and 20 match victories in a row. He won the last three 500-point events in 2020–Hamburg, St. Petersburg, and Vienna. Rublev has now won his last seven ATP finals, improving to 8-2 lifetime with a trophy on the line.

Fucsovics did well to make his opponent work, however. The 59th-ranked Hungarian qualified just to get into the main draw and did not slow down after going all the way to the final. Fucsovics fired 32 winners on Sunday, an especially impressive number on a very slow indoor hard court. It was 11 more than his unforced error count.

“It’s always tough to play against you,” Rublev told the runner-up. “We’ve played four times and four times it was a drama match. Physically you’re one of the strongest ones, so keep going. You’re playing amazing.”

Fucsovics agreed.

“It was a very positive week for me,” said the 29-year-old, who is now 1-2 in his career in ATP finals. “I played unbelievable. I came from qualifying; I played a lot of matches. I improved my game, so that is most important for me.”

It was important for everyone that the tournament even happened at all amidst the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Fans were not allowed, but the week was otherwise a success–thanks largely to TD Richard Krajicek and his team.

“Big thanks to Richard for making this tournament happen,” Rublev stated. “You did such a great job. The feeling was not that empty even without crowds. Thank you so much for it.”

Krajicek returned the thanks.

“I understand, it must be really difficult living in the bubble,” he told the two finalists. I’m really impressed the way all the tennis players adapted to this situation.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.