Emotional Grigor Dimitrov after Brisbane final victory over Holger Rune: "It's been a while since I held one of these. I'm fairly tired and I'll take a few days off but I'm really happy to be in Australia. I'll keep on going. Onto the next one"; Andrey Rublev secures Hong Kong Open title
Sunday 7 January 2024 13:30, UK
Grigor Dimitrov beat Holger Rune 7-6 (5) 6-4 in a tightly-fought battle of the top seeds in the Brisbane International final which stretched over two hours and contained only one break of serve.
Dimitrov, ranked 14th in the world and second seed in Brisbane, claimed his ninth career title with victory and his first since the ATP finals in 2017.
The third game of the first set was indicative of the close struggle. Rune held serve in a game of nine deuces and seven game points, finally fending off a break point at 2-1, 30-40 in a rally of 33 shots.
The 32-year-old Dimitrov finally broke Rune in the eighth game of the second set to lead 4-3. Rune saved two match points in the next game, in which he had a time violation and served an ace at 30-40.
Dimitrov then took the next game to love, serving his eighth ace of the match and finishing on his third match point. Rune had nine aces but also three double faults. The eighth-ranked 20-year-old was bidding for his fifth career title.
Dimitrov, winner in Brisbane six years ago, saved three break points in the match while Rune saved eight of nine.
"It's been a while since I held one of these," an emotional Dimitrov said after receiving the trophy for the second time after his 2017 Brisbane triumph.
"I'm fairly tired and I'll take a few days off but I'm really happy to be in Australia. I'll keep on going and yeah, onto the next one."
Meanwhile, top seed Andrey Rublev secured his 15th tour-level title with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Finn Emil Ruusuvuori in the Hong Kong Open final.
In a heavy-hitting final, Rublev earned a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the ATP 250 event to start his season in style. With his 78-minute victory, the 26-year-old improved to 3-1 in the pair's ATP head-to-head series, gaining revenge for his defeat to Ruusuvuori in Cincinnati in August.
"It is a great feeling," Rublev said. "I enjoyed my week a lot here. It is a great feeling to start the season with the title. I liked the city, the tournament and I played good tennis."
Rublev has won his past nine matches against players outside the Top 50 in the ATP Rankings, with his last defeat coming against Ruusuvuori.
"I played a good level of tennis the whole tournament," Rublev added. "I think I played a high level in the final. It will give me more confidence for Australian Open."
