Andrey Rublev earned an early birthday present as a 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 triumph over Borna Coric at the St Petersburg Open final ensured he will move to a career-high ranking on Monday.
The Russian earned a fourth ATP title of a fine 2020 season on home court and will be ranked eighth in the world when the new standings are released.
That will come just a day before Rublev, who climbed into the qualification spots for the ATP Finals with his victory against Denis Shapovalov in the semi-finals, turns 23.
It was certainly a hard-fought win for Rublev, now a six-time ATP singles champion, given he was 5-2 down in a first-set tie-breaker.
But five straight points caught Coric cold and the Croatian surrendered the only break of the match in game five of the second set to leave Rublev celebrating.
Make that titles in 2020 for @AndreyRublev97!
— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 18, 2020
He delights the home crowd in by defeating Coric 7-6(5), 6-4.@Formula_TX | #spbopen pic.twitter.com/fBDNYxgQF9