Long-time friends Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev captured their first tour-level doubles title together Saturday when they defeated seventh seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-3, 3-6, 10-3 at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Competing in front of a lively crowd on Manolo Santana Stadium, the singles stars produced a strong serving performance to triumph after 71 minutes. They won 83 per cent (25/30) of their first-serve points and raced away in the Match Tie-break to seal victory.
Khachanov and Rublev showed grit throughout their run to the trophy, earning Match Tie-break wins in four of their five matches. They also defeated seeds Nikola Mektic/Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo/Jean-Julien Rojer.
Khachanov and Rublev were competing in their third ATP Masters 1000 final, having advanced to the championship match in Miami in 2018 and Paris in 2019. With their victory, Rublev has now won four doubles trophies. It is Khachanov’s first tour-level doubles title.
Bopanna and Ebden were chasing their third tour-level title of the season together, having won in Doha and Indian Wells. The Indian-Australian tandem are first in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings.
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