Hamburg winner Andrey Rublev had no time to celebrate
Andrey Rublev is the winner of this year's Hamburg European Open. In front of around 2,000 spectators and under a closed roof on the modernized center court at Rothenbaum, the 22-year-old Russian defeated the number two-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final after a big fight 6: 4, 3: 6, 7: 5. It was Rublev's fifth title win, his first at an ATP 500 event.
by Florian Heer
last edit: Sep 28, 2020, 03:06 pm
From Florian Heer from Hamburg
However, the young man from Moscow did not have much time to celebrate after his success. "After my press conference, I will immediately go to the airport and fly to Paris," said Rublev during his last meeting with local media representatives. With the French Open, the players can look forward to the last Grand Slam event in a season turned upside down by Corona.
Rublev again in a hurry
For Rublev it was already the third abrupt departure after winning a tournament this year. “After my victory in Doha, I flew to Adelaide the next day. There I left for Melbourne the same afternoon after winning the title, "said the Muscovite with a smile and stated soberly:" That's okay. It's part of our sport. "
Tsitsipas with Papa Apostolos in excellent form
Tsitsipas would also have liked to leave Hamburg with his first ATP 500 title in his luggage, but announced during his speech on the square that he would return to the Hanseatic city next year.
In terms of play, number 6 in the world rankings can be satisfied with this week. In the victories over the British Daniel Evans, Pablo Cuevas from Uruguay, Dusan Lajovic from Serbia and the Chilean Cristian Garin, Tsitsipas impressed with strong performances.
His father Apostolos may have played an important factor in this. He had returned to his son's side after being absent from the ATP Masters in Rome.
"My father is like a co-pilot to me, he always shows me the right direction," said an emotional Tsitsipas after his semi-final success on Saturday. “He couldn't be by my side last week in Italy, the first time in a match since I was twelve years old. I felt completely lost on and off the pitch. "
Organizers master the task
The organizers of the traditional clay court tournament also seemed to have faced the challenging task of holding an international tennis tournament with up to 2,300 spectators per day. "The hygiene concept worked perfectly," said tournament director Sandra Reichel.
“Together we have shown that it is possible to hold large events safely even in these difficult times. With a total of over 12,000 spectators and 1,200 employees and accredited people, the largest tournament in front of fans since the Corona break is being held. The entire world of sport therefore looked at us in particular, a responsibility of which we were very aware. "
The Hamburg European Open will be part of the ATP calendar again next year. From July 10 to 18, 2021, hopefully more spectators will be able to flock to Rothenbaum again.