Andrey Rublev is looking for his form - and falls out of the top ten
Andrey Rublev is in a mini-crisis. Next Monday, the 24-year-old will no longer be among the ten best tennis players in the world for the first time since September 2020.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit:
Aug 20, 2022, 08:11 am
The North American hard court season has been disappointing for Andrey Rublev so far: At the ATP 500 tournament in Washington, the Russian failed as the top seeded player in the semifinals against Yoshihito Nishioka, last week he lost to Daniel Evans in Montreal after a bye in round two. And in Cincinnati, last year's finalist had to admit defeat to Taylor Fritz in the round of 16.
No question: Rublev is in a difficult phase and seems to be stagnating a bit at the moment. His opponents are increasingly finding effective ways to defuse the Russian's powerful game. The best example of this is the defeat against Evans, in which the Briton drove Rublev mad with his changes of pace.
Rublev and his chance at the US Open
Next Monday Rublev will be outside the top ten in the world rankings for the first time since the end of September 2020, so he could face tricky tasks a little earlier at the US Open. The good news for the 24-year-old: Since he failed in round three in New York last year to Frances Tiafoe, he could soon be back in the elite group of the ten best players in the world.
If you look at the potential, there is no question that Rublev could be a man for Grand Slam titles in the near future. What he lacks (too often) is a plan B should he fail with his powerful groundstrokes. Which isn't often the case anyway. But more and more often in the recent past.
Rublev at the highest tournament level with problems
Rublev won his last title on the tour in April at the ATP 250 tournament in Belgrade, where he didn't leave a game to Novak Djokovic in front of the Serbian spectators in the decisive third set. This fact alone shows the possibilities available to the Russians.
But the truth is that Rublev is still waiting for the final breakthrough at the highest tournament level. In addition to the event in Belgrade, the man from Moscow also won in Dubai (500) and Marseille (250) this year, but he has not yet won a title at Masters 1000 level. And at Grand Slam level, the 24-year-old is still waiting for his first semi-final.