Vicente: Rublev on the right track at Flushing Meadows

  • Posted: Sep 01, 2024

Andrey Rublev was on the brink of elimination at this year’s US Open in the second round. He came back from two sets down against Arthur Rinderknech for a five-set victory in hot and sticky conditions in New York. Surviving the encounter has now led to a golden opportunity this weekend as we approach the halfway point of the final Grand Slam of the 2024 season.

“It was a turning point because you kind of think you’re out,” explained Fernando Vicente, Rublev’s coach, to ATPTour.com. “Watching the match on court, it was a very hot day, and he was in deep trouble. Andrey was very strong physically and he managed to pull through, and the other matches were a little better.

“In Grand Slam tournaments, there are always days like that, where you have to come back or play long matches. As I say, he did well; his body held up, as did his mind, and he was able to celebrate victory. I think he looks good.”

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Having seen off Rinderknech and then beaten Jiri Lehecka in the third round, Rublev will on Sunday face Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the quarter-finals. The 26-year-old Rublev holds a slender 4-3 lead in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

“He’s looking good coming into the match against Dimitrov. I think against Lehecka he played a very solid match, even though he dropped his serve a couple of times in the third set and things got tough, he coped with it very well,” reflected Vicente, whose charge is the current No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings. “I think he’s physically well, feeling confident.

“He’s had a good American swing, it’s going pretty well. Obviously you can always do better, but he reached the final in Canada, quarters in Cincinnati and now he’s playing well here. He’s ready, we’ll see what happens.”

With two titles under his belt in 2024 (Hong Kong and Madrid), Rublev has had a season with plenty of positives and few negatives. According to his coach, though, his season has had a little of everything.

“Looking back at the year… It still hasn’t finished, but there’s been a bit of everything: there have been some good weeks and others not so good,” said Vicente. “It seemed like we were playing well at the start of the year, confidently, but then things got difficult. He lost confidence at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, two matches we weren’t expecting. Not so much in terms of his game, but mentally.

“Knowing Andrey, he always has some weeks like that. He’s working with a psychologist, doing things better, and we’ll see what happens. The highlight of the year, of course, was winning in Madrid. We weren’t expecting it because he was unwell and he managed to win an ATP Masters 1000.”

Rublev’s run in the Spanish capital, where he won the second Masters 1000 title of his career after his Monte-Carlo win in 2023, was complicated by a bout of tonsilitis. Coming through such adversity to triumph in early May in Madrid is one of the main reasons Rublev currently sits sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

“We keep a close eye on the Race, and he’s in the battle to finish the year qualifying for the [Nitto] ATP Finals, that’s the real goal,” said Vicente. “As well as being able to attack the final rounds of a Grand Slam as well as possible.”

Dimitrov is the only player now standing between Rublev and a return to the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, a round he has never surpassed at any of the majors. If he can overcome the Bulgarian on Sunday in New York, Rublev will have another chance to set that record straight.

Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es

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