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World no. 8 Andrey Rublev has been the player to rely on at the beginning of the previous twos seasons. The young Russian won back-to-back titles in the early stages of 2020, and the start of 2021 has been nothing but spectacular for the Moscow native.
Andrey won four singles matches at the ATP Cup before reaching the Australian Open quarter-final. Returning to Europe, Rublev entered the Rotterdam draw and grabbed five victories to lift the eighth ATP crown, the sixth since the start of 2020.
Andrey became only the third player after Roger Federer and Andy Murray with 20 consecutive ATP 500 victories since 2009, conquering Hamburg, St. Petersburg and Vienna last year and continuing in the same style in Rotterdam for a nice milestone and 500 points on his tally.
In the semis, Andrey toppled Stefanos Tsitsipas and set Marton Fucsovics clash in the title match, beating the Hungarian 7-6, 6-4 in an hour and 50 minutes.
Andrey Rublev has won 20 consecutive ATP 500 matches.
The Russian had 28 winners and 11 unforced errors, taming his strokes nicely and overpowering the rival's 32 winners and 21 mistakes.
Rublev served at 74% and saved all four break chances in the opening service game to keep the pressure on the other side. Marton gave his best to follow that pace, battling hard before losing serve once in set number two that sent the better-ranked opponent over the finish line.
Rublev faced four break points in the encounter's first game, saving those with brave hitting and holding with an ace to avoid an early setback. Marton fended off two break opportunities in game two, and they both served well until game 12 when the Hungarian had to hold to bring out a tie break.
Fucsovics saved a set point with a forehand winner and closed the game with a volley winner to introduce the breaker. Andrey won it 7-4 following Marton's forehand error, gathering a massive boost ahead of set number two. A volley winner at the net pushed the Russian 1-0 in front, and he held with two winners in game two to confirm the advantage.
Fucsovics saved two break points in game seven to remain within one break deficit, but he couldn't pull the break back, as Rublev sealed the deal with a forehand winner in game ten.