ROTTERDAM/STARNBERG, March 7, 2021
Andrey Rublev is the champion of the 2021 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, winning his fourth title and 20th match in a row at ATP 500 events. The No. 4 seed from Russia defeated Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics 7-6(4), 6-4 in Sunday’s singles final at the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena.
Rublev saved all four break points he faced and capitalized on one of his own six break-point chances to secure victory in one hour and 50 minutes.
2️⃣0️⃣ ATP 500 wins (& counting…) 🔥
🎥: @TennisTV | @abnamrowtt pic.twitter.com/cJSk9Z1sD3
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 7, 2021
“I feel happy. It has been a really great week,” said Rublev. “It has been a great past year and a half. We will see if I can keep going, if I can keep this level of competing [and] being a Top 10 [player].”
By lifting his eighth ATP Tour career trophy, Rublev pocketed in Rotterdam €89,265 in prize money as well as 500 ATP Ranking points.
Most consecutive wins in ATP 500:
28 – Roger Federer
21 – Andy Murray
20 – @AndreyRublev97 🙌
19 – Rafael Nadal
17 – Novak Djokovic, Juan Martin del Potro#abnamrowtt pic.twitter.com/7J82KLoLSD— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 7, 2021
“I was not even thinking [about the streak] until [the media] were starting to put on the internet 16 matches, 17 matches, 18 matches,” said Rublev. “Of course, it is a great number, but I was not even thinking about it… It is a great feeling to know that I did something that not many players did.”
Mektic/Pavic take doubles title
Earlier in the day, Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic added a third title to their 2021 collection with a 7-6(7), 6-2 triumph against Kevin Krawietz of Germany and Horia Tecau from Romania. The No. 2 seeded Croatians won the final after one hour and 18 minutes.
Three-sy does it 👌@NMektic & Mate Pavic claim their 3rd title from four events in 2021, beating Krawietz/Tecau 7-6 6-2 to win the @abnamrowtt in Rotterdam! pic.twitter.com/4VP5wJ6ZFy
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 7, 2021
“We have known each other for years already,” said Pavic. “We practised together for the past couple of years always when we were back home. We never played an official match before this year, but I think that helped us. We started to play this year together, but we know the games of each other very well, so I don’t think it took us too much time to adapt to each other on the court. The results prove that.”
Mektic added: “We came up, throughout the entire tournament, with a high level of serving. We only got broken a few times. That was the key. It is indoor tennis. The serve is a very important part of the game in indoor tennis. We did very well and, in the end, I am very happy to win the tournament.”
Pavic and Mektic split €29,100 in prize money and earn 500 ATP Doubles Ranking points.
