That Andrey Rublev had tremendous potential was never a matter of doubt. While he had all the primary physical attributes and the skills to be a player who could achieve some degree of greatness, what remained to be seen was clinching evidence whether he had the mental resolve to match all of that in order to live up to such high expectations.
Last evening at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex, he provided precisely that. The 23-year-old killed off the hopes of the 20-year-old French qualifier Corentin Moutet to win the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, becoming only the second Russian, after Nikolay Davydenko in 2010, to do so.
Rublev, the second seed in Qatar, triumphed 7-2, 7-6 (3) in one hour and 26 minutes to win only his third ATP title, having won in Umag, Croatia, in 2018 and Moscow last year.
In 2018, he had finished runner-up in Qatar to Gael Monfils, and having emerged second time lucky yesterday, he was  looking forward to an impactful 2020 on the ATP Tour.
“It’s my first experience at the start of a season with the trophy, and it’s an amazing feeling,” said Rublev at his press conference after collecting the falcon trophy from Qatar Olympic Committee President HE Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad al-Thani. He also received a cheque of $227,930.
“I don’t know what to say because like I said already many times, I always enjoy myself here. I always enjoy to be here, to play here, to practise here. The conditions are always — I don’t know.
“I just always was waiting for the time to come back to start the season here because the organisation always is so good. They were always doing everything for the players. So always amazing preparation for the Australian Open.
“And now I have even won a title, so it’s double amazing. And I don’t know. For the moment, I’m really happy.”
Rublev, who was given a first round bye, had a relatively easy path to the final than his young rival Moutet, who had to slay a few big guns, including top-seed Stan Wawrinka and fourth-seed Milos Raonic.
Moutet also had two tough three-setters in one day on Friday, against Fernando Verdasco and Wawrinka, to make up for the rain interruption on Thursday.
But while that was just a matter of luck for Rublev, yesterday’s victory was not, as he asserted himself early in the match and declared his intentions.
He started off by winning the opening three games, breaking Moutet in the second, and never looked back, eventually going a set up in just 31 minutes with a second break in the eighth game.
The second set also took a similar pattern as Rublev was 3-0 up in no time as Moutet showed signs of being a nervous wreck. He couldn’t cope with the Russian’s ferocious groundstrokes and after losing the first point on his serve in the fourth game, he earned a warning from the chair umpire for hitting a ball out of the court.
Another time, he threatened to break his racquet but aborted midway, avoiding a second warning. Nevertheless, a couple of bad shots by Rublev saw him hold his serve and win his first game.
The fifth and sixth games went with serve, but Moutet secured a crucial break in the seventh to draw close (3-4) and find an opening.
It was from a similar situation that he had turned the tables on Wawrinka in the semis on Friday, and an encore looked like a possibility as he held serve to draw level.
A battle of attrition followed with Moutet punctuating largely defensive play with some fierce cross-court forehands that left Rublev stunned. A few lobs also caught the Russian by surprise as the match entered the tiebreak after Moutet held his serve in the crucial 12th game.
Moutet, however, was caught napping in the shootout as he handed the first four points to Rublev, including two on his own serve, three times failing to clear the net.
Moutet finally won his first point, that too on Rublev’s serve, but sent the ball wide on his serve to lag 1-6. He saved two match points, but the big comeback he was hoping for didn’t materialise as the Russian wrapped it up in the end with a great degree of ease.
Rublev said he was not thinking of the Australian Open yet.
“I don’t know what to say. I don’t expect nothing. I’m not waiting for nothing. I just want to go there. If I lose there first round and I did my best, I will be happy.
“So in the end, it’s not about me. If I do my best there every match and I will behave every match well, we’ll see how far I can go. First round is first round; second, second; third, third, and we’ll see.”
Moutet said he had plenty of positives from the tournament.
“The way I controlled my mind during the week, maybe not today too much, but the other day was really good. I made a lot of improvement on this side,” said the youngster, who won $126,160.
“And, of course, I did a lot of work to be able to do that this week. But I think I need to continue to work because, as I said, today wasn’t good enough. So there is still a long way and a lot of work to do. But I’m happy a little bit (smiling).”
The Qatar Tennis, Squash and Badminton Federation (QTSBF) cut down on the usual entertainment programmes scheduled on the final day because of the death of Oman’s long-time ruler Sultan Qaboos yesterday. A one-minute silence was held before the final in his honour.