Rublev Wins First Challenger Title In Quimper
Rublev Wins First Challenger Title In Quimper
The Russian teen revolution is here. In September, 19-year-old Karen Khachanov claimed his first ATP Challenger Tour crown with a comeback win in Istanbul. On Sunday, Andrey Rublev joined his close friend and countryman, winning his maiden title with a dramatic victory in Quimper, France.
The 18 year old rallied from a set and a break down to upset top seed and home favourite Paul Henri-Mathieu 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4. The turning point of the match came with Rublev down a break at 3-2 in the second set. He would convert his seventh chance to break back, reeling off 10 of 15 games to seal the win after two hours and 24 minutes.
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“It’s such a great feeling,” Rublev said following the match. “I’m so happy to win it and I’m going to try to work harder to play better and better.
“Today was a tough match against such a great player. I was just trying to do my best. The surface here is really fast, so when I had chances I was trying to go for it.”
ATP Challenger Tour Winners Aged 18 & Under (since start of 2015)
|
Player |
Age |
Title |
|
Taylor Fritz |
17 yrs, 11 mos. |
Sacramento ’15 |
|
Taylor Fritz |
17 yrs, 11 mos. | Fairfield ’15 |
|
Alexander Zverev |
18 yrs | Heilbronn ’15 |
| Taylor Fritz | 18 yrs, 2 mos. | Happy Valley ’16 |
| Jared Donaldson | 18 yrs, 3 mos. | Maui ’15 |
| Andrey Rublev | 18 yrs, 4 mos. | Quimper ’16 |
| Hyeon Chung | 18 yrs, 8 mos. | Burnie ’15 |
| Borna Coric | 18 yrs, 9 mos. | Barranquilla ’15 |
| Hyeon Chung | 18 yrs, 11 mos. | Savannah ’15 |
| Hyeon Chung | 18 yrs, 11 mos. | Busan ’15 |
Rublev ascends to a career-high World No. 161 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, becoming the 11th teenager in the Top 200. He is the third teen to win an ATP Challenger Tour title this year, joining Taylor Fritz and Blake Mott, and the first qualifier, having claimed six matches in eight days. Players aged 18 & under have now accounted for 10 Challenger titles in the last 14 months.
“I was playing really poorly in the U.S. (last month) and losing everything. Then, I saw on the calendar there were two Challengers here in Cherbourg and Quimper. I couldn’t stay in America because there were only ATP tournaments, so I came here to get back in shape and get some [Emirates ATP Rankings] points. I didn’t think I was going to win. It couldn’t be better.”
Russians are now 4-0 in finals this year, following Mikhail Youzhny‘s three wins in three weeks in January.
Rublev will next travel to Indian Wells to compete in qualifying at the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the year. He reached the second round in his lone Masters 1000 main draw in Miami in 2015.