It was a good week for Andrey Rublev at the Astana Open, but there is no let up for the 24-year-old as he seeks to boost his qualification hopes for the Nitto ATP Finals.
Rublev powered to the semi-finals at the ATP 500 event in the Kazakh capital before falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in three sets. Despite that disappointment, the 11-time tour-level titlist collected 180 valuable points to consolidate his place in sixth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.
This week, he has the chance to press his claims further when he takes to court at the Gijon Open. Rublev (who has 3,235 points in the Live Race) is the top seed at the ATP 250 event, and a title run in Spain would move him within 70 points of fifth-placed Daniil Medvedev (3,555).
View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Standings
Should he qualify, it would be a third consecutive appearance for Rublev at the end-of-year event, to be held at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.
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Now right behind Rublev in the Race is Taylor Fritz (2,885 points). The American’s maiden ATP 500 crown at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships in Tokyo propelled him three spots to seventh as he chases his debut appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.
As a result of lifting his 90th tour-level trophy in Astana, Novak Djokovic (2,720 points) became the fifth confirmed qualifier for the eight-man season finale. The Serbian’s triumph not only lifted him to 10th in the Live Race, but also guaranteed the five-time Nitto ATP Finals champion a Top 20 finish — high enough to book his spot thanks to his Wimbledon triumph in July.
Djokovic’s qualification raises the possibility of an eighth-placed finish in the Race not being enough to reach the Nitto ATP Finals. Felix Auger-Aliassime currently occupies that spot with 2,880 points, having been usurped from seventh by Fritz, but he has the chance to immediately reclaim the position from the American — the Canadian is the top seed at this week’s UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence.
Also in action from the chasing pack this week are Matteo Berrettini (15th in the Race) and Pablo Carreno Busta (14th in the Race), who are the second seeds in Florence and Gijon, respectively. Both will seek strong runs to boost their qualification hopes as the final few weeks of the 2022 season approach.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]