BELGRADE (Reuters) - Russia’s Andrey Rublev won the Serbia Open ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade on Sunday, overcoming local hero Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-0.
Despite cheering from some 8,000 local fans, Rublev took the first set in just 20 minutes, while the two players fought in the second set for almost 90 minutes before Djokovic evened things up by winning a tie-break.
However, the World No 1 then suffered from fatigue, allowing the Russian to win a brief third set 6-0.
After the match, Djokovic congratulated Rublev on his victory, adding that it was a “great pleasure” to play in front of his compatriots, and made no secret of his physical decline in the match.
Rublev said Djokovic was the “greatest player of all time” and wished to have “many more battles against him”.
Rublev, who is currently ranked the world’s No 8 male tennis player, becomes the first Russian holder of the Serbia Open - which adds another 250 ATP ranking points to his name.