St Petersburg, October 18: Andrey Rublev earned an early birthday present as a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph over Borna Coric at the St Petersburg Open final ensured he will move to a career-high ranking on Monday.
The Russian earned a fourth ATP title of a fine 2020 season on home court and will be ranked eighth in the world when the new standings are released.
That will come just a day before Rublev, who climbed into the qualification spots for the ATP Finals with his victory against Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals, turns 23.
ATP Finals contenders Rublev and Shapovalov set for St Petersburg showdown
It was certainly a hard-fought win for Rublev, now a six-time ATP singles champion, given he was 2-5 down in a first-set tie-breaker.
But five straight points caught Coric cold and the Croatian surrendered the only break of the match in game five of the second set to leave Rublev celebrating.
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