Rublev wins fourth title of 2022 (VIDEO)

Andrey Rublev sealed his fourth title win of 2022 and the twelfth in his career by becoming the first ever champion of the Gijon Open on Sunday.

Rublev made short work of Sebastian Korda in the final, beating him 6-2, 6-3 in 77 minutes.

As the top seed in the event, Rublev struck 29 winners, broke his opponent’s serve three times, and committed just four unforced errors.

Rublev capped off a strong week at the hard-court tournament in Spain where he enjoyed wins over Ilya Ivashka, Tommy Paul, and Dominic Thiem on his way to the final.

His confidence from these wins carried through to the last hurdle, where he secured his 47th tour level win of the year and a fourth title of the season after triumphs in Marseille, Dubai, and Belgrade.

Rublev, who will take home $93,090 in prize money from a total $612,000 with his win, was described as “already stepping on the heels” of former world number one compatriot Daniil Medvedev by Russian media.

Currently in sixth place, Rublev trails ex-US Open champion Medvedev by just 115 points in the ATP’s Race to Turin table where the top players and Grand Slam champions are rewarded with a place at the eight-player Nitto ATP Finals that end the season from November 13 to 20.

In the ATP rankings overall, however, Medvedev is in fourth place with 5,245 points, whereas Rublev is in ninth with 3,480.