Russian star Andrey Rublev hoping to start new year with success at Adelaide International tournament
At 22-years-old and ranked just outside the world’s top 20, Russia’s Andrey Rublev is part of the new wave of men desperate to unsettle the old order. He will make his Adelaide International debut next month.
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There are times when the sporting seasons can appear never ending - football, for example, comes with the capacity to dominate the summer months as much as winter.
Andrey Rublev understands such intensity.
The last few months of 2019 have seen him unseat Roger Federer at the Cincinnati Masters, take home the ATP Kremlin Cup before his home crowd on his birthday and reach the last four of the inaugural Davis Cup finals.
It doesn’t allow for much of a break.
“I took seven days off without playing tennis,” he said.
“I spent two days in Finland and then started preparing for the Davis Cup.”
A full pre-season ensued late last month in Barcelona followed by an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi a week ago, won by Rafael Nadal, before heading back to Spain to finish his 2020 tune-up.
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He did not face Nadal in Abu Dhabi, but the great champion is familiar.
It is a story few of us can relate to.
His mother, Marina, is a tennis coach he said and asked her 17-year-old son if he fancied a few days Mediterranean break where she was training her junior players.
“She said I could fly with her to Mallorca to rest a few days,” Rublev said.
“I said perfect, I will go with you.
“Then when I was there, the coach from the Guillermo Villas academy told me there was a good possibility to practice with Rafa and of course I said ‘yes’.”
Rubbing shoulders with tennis titans was not a new experience, former grand slam champions Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov were regulars at his home club.
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“All of my life I used to practice at the same club where almost all of the Russian tennis stars practised, Sportak of Moscow,” Rublev said.
“Even now when I come back to Moscow and I need to practice, I go there.
“Basically, that was my club since I was a little kid.”
Three months out of tennis last year with a lower back fracture and a wrist injury this year temporarily stalled the Rublev rise, and the hard-hitting player – who can have a flamboyant on-court persona – found the time out a struggle.
“I love the competition so much that it is a real struggle for me when I cannot play,” he said. “Being injured makes me appreciate even more how much I love to play tennis.
“The injuries have set me back, so I am working extremely hard to do what I need to do to avoid injuries in the future.
The feisty character – theatrical fist pumping and team hugging were staples at the Davis Cup – has its roots in a sporting basic he suggests.
“I enjoyed the Davis Cup,” Rublev said.
“It was a fun time and I was very emotional on the court because I hate to lose.
“This is the way I am.
“Outside the court it is better to ask some close people to stay with me because I can be so calm and quiet.”
He is cautious on when the new guard, that includes Australia’s Alex de Minaur and Canadian teen Felix Auger-Aliassime who will also be on show in Adelaide, will finally overthrow the holy trinity of Federer, Nadal and Djokovic.
“Of course, the big three are still going to be on top and will still win so many tournaments,” Rublev said.
“But now we can see that some young players are already beating them and can see young players in the semi-finals and finals of tournaments.
“In a few of the Masters tournaments we saw young players playing against the big three in finals, and even winning.
“Now it should start to be very interesting.”