ATP 250 – Florence, Italy
[1] Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN) def Jeffrey John Wolf (USA) 6-4, 6-4
22-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime has won his second ATP singles title at the UniCredit Firenze Open in Italy.
After losing his first eight career finals at the top level, the Canadian has now won two of his past three after also converting in Rotterdam earlier this year.
Auger-Aliassime overcame 23-year-old J.J Wolf in Sunday’s final – with the American contesting his maiden ATP singles final.
Wolf looked to match the Canadian’s power but was unable to maintain Felix’s level, with the champion ultimately hitting 25 winners and just seven unforced errors.
“It's so special to win, especially here. I had a fantastic week and it's been amazing,” Auger-Aliassime said post-match.
On the back of a 250-point boost, the 2021 US-Open semi-finalist jumps back inside the ATP top 10 and increases his chances of qualifying for a maiden ATP Finals berth.
With just three spots left to be filled, the 22-year-old now sits third in line (of unqualified players) and firms as a strong contender for the final place in Turin.
“The plan right now is to play every week – to play in Antwerp, Basel and Paris because there are still tournaments to play, and the Race is very close,” the Canadian revealed.
“There [are] players like Taylor [Fritz] and Andrey [Rublev], and many others, are competing hard right now to try and qualify, so I'm going to try to put myself in the best position possible to try and make it to Turin.”
ATP 250 – Gijon, Spain
[1] Andrey Rublev (RUS) def Sebastian Korda (USA) 6-2, 6-3
24-year-old Andrey Rublev has claimed his twelfth career ATP singles title on the indoor courts of Gijon, Spain.
The Russian also became just the fourth man, alongside Alcaraz, Djokovic, and Nadal, to win four singles titles in 2022.
Rublev initially overcame Dominic Thiem in the last four, with the 2020 US Open champion reaching his second semi-final of the year in his return to the tennis tour.
In Sunday’s final, the world number eight eased past 22-year-old Sebastian Korda who was competing in his third ATP final and first of the year.
Rublev spread the American around the entire court with his iconic grunt on display to earn a comfortable finals victory.
“I am really happy and really grateful. To win a title is always a special feeling because all the players are working to win a title and play the best tournaments,” he said post-match.
The 24-year-old also has his mind focused on qualifying for a third straight ATP Finals berth and now frames as a likely prospect for one of three remaining places.
“To win one more title here in my career is really important for me. All the weeks are important for me because I am fighting for the [ATP] Finals,” Rublev stated.
“It would be a really amazing feeling [to qualify] because this is the tournament players are dreaming of playing.”
The Russian now sits second among the remaining contenders with Daniil Medvedev ahead of him, and the likes of Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz not far behind.
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