Rublev Races Past Albot In Tour-Leading Paris Win
Andrey Rublev’s torrid run showed no signs of cooling off as the fifth-seeded Russian raced through his Paris Rolex Masters opener in straight sets to claim his 40th win of the year.
Rublev arrived in Paris after back-to-back wins in the last two tournaments he’s played at the St Petersburg Open and Erste Bank Open in Vienna, amassing an impressive 15 wins in a row at ATP 500 events dating back to his victory at the Hamburg European Open in September.
The fifth seed continued to impress in his second-round clash against lucky loser Radu Albot, needing under an hour to record a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory. Rublev didn’t face a break point as he blasted 28 winners past Albot, winning 91% of points behind his first serve to book a spot in the third round.
It’s a tour-leading 40th victory of the season for the 23-year-old Russian, who booked his spot at the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time after claiming a tour-leading fifth title of the year in Vienna. Rublev now leads Novak Djokovic in both counts, with the World No.1 recording 39 wins and four titles in 2020.
Rublev awaits the winner between No. 12 seed Stan Wawrinka and Tommy Paul as he seeks a spot in the quarter-finals in Paris.