Rublev earns fourth trophy of year with win in St. Petersburg Open

Andrey Rublev joined Novak Djokovic as the only men to win four tour singles titles in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season as he beat Borna Coric 7-6 (5), 6-4 Sunday in the final of the St. Petersburg (Russia) Open.

The win brings Rublev closer to securing a spot at the ATP Finals next month after he moved into the top 10 of the rankings for the first time last Monday. The Russian player won the Qatar and Adelaide titles in January and added the Hamburg title last month.

Beating Coric brought Rublev his 34th win of the season, ranking him second only to Djokovic on 37.

The tournament in St. Petersburg was played with fans in the stands. Organizers earlier said up to 2,500 spectators could be allowed into the indoor arena for the finals.

COLOGNE (GERMANY) INDOORS: Alexander Zverev ended his 17-month wait for a title by drawing on the pain of his U.S. Open final defeat to beat Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3 in the final. Zverev has had a breakthrough year in Grand Slam events with his first semifinal at the Australian Open in January and first final at the U.S. Open last month, when he lost to Dominic Thiem. “I had a very tough final in New York, and … I wanted to come out and play my best tennis,” he said.

SARDEGNA OPEN: Laslo Djere of Serbia beat Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato 7-6 (3), 7-5 in the final in Santa Margherita di Pula, Sardinia. It was the 74th-ranked Djere’s second title. Both have come on clay.