Archive of posts tagged Moscow

Andrey Rublev reveals the main advice he received from Marat Safin

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Andrey

Andrey Rublev understood that he had to change some things to get out of the crisis that has affected him in the last year and a half, which is why he decided to start a new collaboration with his compatriot Marat Safin. The latter cannot travel with him to all the tournaments on the calendar, but he is helping him with his advice and some progress has been seen from the Russian ace.

The player from Moscow put in good performances during the Wimbledon Championships last month and did not disappoint at the Toronto Masters 1000 either, although he was unable to 'defend' the final reached in Montreal last year.

He is not far from the Top 10 of the ATP rankings right now and can aspire to achieve this goal by achieving good results at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 and especially at the US Open, two tournaments that should be suitable for his game.

Rublev opens up on Safin 

During a recent interview with 'Tennis Bolshe', Andrey revealed that Safin is spurring him to add new weapons to his game to become more unpredictable: "I've understood for some time that I have to do something different if I want to become competitive again at the highest level. I knew that scoring more frequently was one of the main keys from a tactical point of view, but I was almost never able to do it until Marat came along. He told me that there were no other options and I had to try until I could do it."

Although Safin has a consulting role in Rublev's team, his main coach continues to be Fernando Vicente who has followed him since the beginning of his career. The latter has sacrificed much of his private life to help Andrey realize his dream and the Russian champion has never missed an opportunity to show him his enormous gratitude.

"Our relationship goes far beyond what is usually between a player and his coach. Fernando is a member of my family in some respects," Rublev said in a recent interview.

ATP ace Andrey Rublev blasts fast courts in Toronto

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Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

Andrey Rublev has certainly raised his level compared to recent months and his new collaboration with Marat Safin is helping him to find good feelings in view of the US Open scheduled for the end of the summer. The Russian ace had already put in a series of good performances during the Wimbledon Championships, where he had also put world number 2 Carlos Alcaraz in trouble by losing in four sets in the round of 16.

The player from Moscow also reached the round of 16 at the Toronto Masters 1000, after defeating Hugo Gaston in his debut and Italian star Lorenzo Sonego in the third round. Andrey – who reached the final in Montreal last year – made an excellent comeback against Sonego showing that he has recovered mental strength, but further tests will be needed to understand the real consistency of the Russian.

His next opponent will be Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, who is playing very well at the moment and has no intention of stopping there. Rublev occupies the 11th position in the ATP ranking at the moment, but he is very close to the tenth position held by Lorenzo Musetti (who has already been eliminated by Alex Michelsen) and will overtake him by passing the next round.

Rublev does not like these courts

Meanwhile, the former Top 10 player gave a long interview to 'Tennis Channel' in which he highlighted how these courts leave little room for tactics and strategy.

As a spectator, I enjoy watching tennis on slower courts a lot more," the Russian champion revealed. "A lot of people think of Wimbledon courts as quite fast, but grass is a surface that allows you to play longer rallies and make the transition from defense to attack. There is more room for strategy and you can change tactics in relation to the score. It takes more intelligence and athletic fitness to prevail on those fields.

The situation is very different on hard courts. I watched the match between Medvedev and Popyrin and there were very few rallies from baseline. Although Daniil was in action, the point ended with the serve and another shot in most cases."

Andrey Rublev reveals if Marat Safin will be present at the US Open

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Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev is trying to turn his season and career around in recent times, having made the decision to hire Marat Safin as his new coach after going through a very negative period.

The Russian ace has a lot of points to defend at the 'Canadian Open' – which is taking place in Toronto right now – having reached the final in Montreal last year. The champion from Moscow can take advantage of the fact that numerous top players have decided not to participate in the prestigious Canadian tournament in this edition, preferring to recharge their batteries in view of the US Open scheduled for the end of the summer.

Without Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper – all absent for various reasons – Rublev can really try to achieve an exceptional result in Ontario, which would allow him to regain a lot of confidence in view of the last Grand Slam of the season. Last year's finalist had a strong debut in Toronto, where he defeated French star Hugo Gaston in straight sets.

Rublev opens up on Safin

During his press conference, he explained that the conditions are very different between Toronto and Montreal: "The courts are very fast here, the ball slips and it's not easy to control the shots. The situation is totally different from Montreal, where the surface is slower and the rallies are much longer. The conditions in Toronto are tougher in my opinion."

Rublev seems more confident and confident since Safin became his mentor and it is no coincidence that he put in excellent performances at the Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the round of 16 losing to Carlitos Alcaraz at the end of a hard-fought match (the Russian had won the first set, before suffering the comeback of the Spanish champion).

Andrey explained that Marat's presence in New York is not yet certain: "We hope he can be with me at the US Open, but it is not certain that he will be able to get his visa in time. If he doesn't succeed, we'll have to wait for the tournaments in Asia."