Andrey Rublev is a four-time ATP Tour titlist and he currently sits at a career-high No. 14 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

ATPTour.com looks at five things you should know about the Russian.

1) He Reached The US Open Quarter-Finals In 2017
Just more than a month after lifting his maiden ATP Tour trophy at the 2017 Plava Laguna Croatia Open Umag, Rublev achieved the best Grand Slam finish of his career so far at the 2017 US Open. The 19-year-old advanced to the quarter-finals in New York, beating two Top 15 players to become the youngest US Open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001.

The 6’2” right-hander beat recently-crowned Cincinnati champion Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin — both men reached the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals championship match — in straight sets en route to the last eight. Rafael Nadal, who went on to claim his third of four US Open trophies, ended Rublev’s run.

2) He Faced A Setback In 2018
After ending a breakthrough 2017 season with a run to the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals championship match, Rublev’s hopes of continuing his rise up the FedEx ATP Rankings were derailed by injury in 2018.

Rublev began the 2018 ATP Tour season in impressive form, reaching his second ATP Tour final at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open (l. to Monfils) and back-to-back quarter-finals in Montpellier and Rotterdam. But a lower back stress fracture forced the Russian to miss three months of the year and spend three hours a day at a clinic doing magnetotherapy. He said the rest of his day was spent eating lunch and sitting on the sofa.

“That time was really tough for me,” said Rublev. “I remember I didn’t watch any tennis matches… all the guys were playing and competing. They were on Tour and I was there on the sofa doing nothing.”

3) He Wasted No Time Against Federer In Cincinnati Last Year
“It’s my biggest and the most emotional win.”

At last year’s Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Rublev recorded the quickest victory against Roger Federer in more than 16 years.

Competing at No. 70 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, the two-time Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier earned a 62-minute win against Federer with consistent forehand aggression. It was the fastest win any player had recorded against the 20-time Grand Slam champion since Franco Squillari defeated the Swiss in 54 minutes to advance to the second round at 2003 Sydney. (No times are available for Davis Cup matches and 2000 and 2004 Olympic matches.)

4) Injuries Have Helped Him Appreciate The Sport
After missing three months of 2018 with a lower back stress fracture, Rublev also missed six weeks of the 2019 ATP Tour season with a right wrist injury.

At his comeback event, the NOVENTI OPEN in Halle, Rublev struggled to find his form in a third-set tie-break loss to Mats Moraing in the first qualifying round. But, after all his time away from the court, he had learned to find joy from competing rather than results.

“I appreciated everything I had after the second injury… I remember after that match I was a little bit disappointed, but not as much as before,” said Rublev. “But I said, ‘Finally, I’m playing’. Even though I was playing badly, I enjoyed that moment. Even playing like that, I wanted to play. After that I appreciated what I had. I won one round at Wimbledon and took steps forward, little-by-little. I finished the season well.

5) He Made A Stunning Start To 2020
In the first two weeks of the 2020 ATP Tour season, Rublev entered the history books. The 22-year-old became the first player since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004 to win two trophies in the opening two weeks of a season, claiming titles in Doha and Adelaide.

“I was not thinking about [this statistic], but it’s an amazing feeling… I’m really happy. I hope I keep working. I hope I keep improving, and we’ll see what’s going to happen,” said Rublev.

The Russian did not drop a set en route to the trophy in Doha, before surviving three-set battles against Daniel Evans and Felix Auger-Aliassime to reach the Adelaide final. In the championship match, he needed just 56 minutes to charge past Lloyd Harris and earn a 12th straight tour-level victory. The Russian extended his winning run to 15 matches at the Australian Open, before Alexander Zverev beat him in the fourth round.

Roger Federer made history in a new way on Tuesday when he became the first tennis player to top Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes. Forbes estimated Federer’s annual earnings at $106.3 million.

The Swiss just edged football stars Cristiano Ronaldo ($105m) and Lionel Messi ($104m), who were the only other athletes to surpass the $100m milestone.

Forbes Highest-Paid Athletes – Top 5

View Full Forbes List

On the Forbes website, Kurt Badenhausen compares Federer to basketball legend Michael Jordan: “Call it the Jordan playbook, the blueprint for global domination chronicled in ESPN’s 10-part documentary on the basketball great, The Last Dance: Command a sport with a global audience for years; appeal to both men and women; stay out of trouble; add in a dose of swagger and a dash of charisma.”

Badenhausen quoted David Carter, a sports business professor at USC Marshall School of Business, as saying Federer’s “brand is pristine”. The Swiss has endorsements with 13 brands, including pasta and luggage companies.

Three other ATP players made the list, with each of them ranking inside the Top 40.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic came in 23rd with $44 million in total earnings, World No. 2 Rafael Nadal was second at $40 million, and Japanese star Kei Nishikori was 40th at $32.1 million.

Federer has earned nearly $130 million in career prize money.

Editor’s Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September

After maiden championship victories at Wimbledon in 2003 and the Australian Open earlier in the year, Roger Federer arrived at Roland Garros in 2004 seeking his third Grand Slam trophy in 11 months.

The World No. 1, who entered the event fresh from lifting his second Hamburg European Open trophy, avoided a third-straight first-round loss at the clay-court Grand Slam championship with back-to-back straight-sets wins against Kristof Vliegen and Nicolas Kiefer.

But in the third round, the Swiss’ title bid came to an abrupt end against three-time champion Gustavo Kuerten.

The Brazilian, who underwent arthroscopic right hip surgery in 2002, was competing for the first time since retiring from his Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell quarter-final showing with a hip injury. Kuerten began the tournament with a five-set battle against Nicolas Almagro, before moving past Gilles Elseneer to book a date with the World No. 1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Supported by regular chants of ‘Guga! Guga!’, Kuerten played with aggression from the baseline and found consistent success on serve. Despite dropping his serve early in the first set, the Brazilian did not face a break point in any of his remaining 14 service games to complete a memorable two-hour, four-minute victory.

“I came here in bad shape, playing bad. But every time I go on the court, it seems something special happens with the love and passion I have for the tournament. That brings the best out in me,” said Kuerten.

Kuerten’s victory extended his streak of fourth-round appearances at the tournament to six years. The 2000 year-end World No. 1 ultimately advanced to the quarter-finals in Paris, where he was beaten in a fourth-set tie-break by World No. 8 David Nalbandian.

With Federer adding a second Wimbledon trophy and a maiden US Open crown to his resume later in the year, Kuerten was the only man to defeat Federer at a Grand Slam event in 2004.

“The last three years haven’t been the best for me here,” said Federer. “I just didn’t play like I can. This is a little bit of a disappointment for me. I can play better.”

Federer soon proved that he could achieve greater success on the Parisian terre batteu. The Swiss has reached the Round of 16 or better in each of his 12 appearances at the event since his loss to Kuerten. Federer has made five final appearances in Paris and, with his 2009 final victory against Robin Soderling, the Swiss became the sixth man to complete the Career Grand Slam.

Editor’s Note: But for the COVID-19 pandemic, Roland Garros would now be underway. During the next two weeks ATPTour.com will look back on memorable matches and happenings at the clay-court Grand Slam, which tournament organisers are now hoping to stage in September.

Saturday, 31 May 2003 was a special day for Tommy Robredo. He had just turned 21 and was facing the biggest challenge of his career so far at Roland Garros: defeating a World No. 1 at a Grand Slam.

His opponent was Lleyton Hewitt, who took the first two sets 6-4, 6-1. However, the Australian would not be the man to claim the victory that day.

Playing in the third round of a Grand Slam was nothing new to the Spaniard. It was not even the first time he had met — and defeated — a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam event, as he had previously overcome Juan Carlos Ferrero at the 2001 US Open. But, in Paris, he produced the best victory of his career until that point.

“Until now I had always remembered my 2001 win over Ferrero in the US Open. But today’s surpasses that by a distance,” said Robredo.

So, what happened that day on the French clay? David brought down Goliath. And he did so by coming back from two sets down in a total of three hours and 24 minutes to win 4-6, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

“The important thing was keeping a good head. I didn’t care about going two sets down, or losing 0-3 in the fifth. I kept fighting, convinced that I could beat him,” said Robredo.

Sixteen years later, Robredo revealed something intriguing that happened to him before the match against Hewitt. The day after beating Jonas Bjorkman in the second round, the Spaniard went to the physio room for his treatment. In just 24 hours he had to face the World No. 1 and he wanted to be as prepared as possible. Andre Agassi was close by and he quickly asked him for some advice.

”Hey, Andre, tomorrow I’m playing with Hewitt,” said Robredo. “What tactics should I use?

“I’m not the kind of person that asks a lot of questions, but I thought I’d ask Agassi,” said Robredo. “It was very interesting. He suddenly got up off the bed. He sat down. And he started explaining the tactics to me.”

They spoke of Hewitt’s tactics, his cross-court backhand, his solid forehand and that on his second serve and on break points he tended to aim at the ‘T’.

“Agassi kept talking and I remember that the match was exactly as he had told me,” said Robredo.

Robredo progressed to the fourth round, along with his countrymen Albert Costa, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Felix Mantilla and Carlos Moya. The next day, he returned to the same room he had spoken to Agassi in. And the US player was there once more.

“He got up and gave me a hug and said, ‘I watched the whole match and you honestly played incredibly. You applied all the tactics we talked about perfectly. I’m really glad.’ Nobody had ever given me tactics for a match as elaborately and clearly as he did. Everything he said was right. I knew exactly how Hewitt played and how you had to play him,” said Robredo.

After the evident success, the then-World No. 31 did not hesitate, “Hey, tomorrow I’m playing Kuerten, maybe you can give me some tactics. And he did it again for me,” said Robredo.

The result? Robredo reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final by beating the Brazilian 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(2), 6-4.

Hey Kids!

We hope you’ve been enjoying all the activities in the Emirates ATP Kids Hub during this period of lockdown.

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Your favourite players are finding plenty of ways to keep busy this week. From Fabio Fognini’s big day out, to Daniil Medvedev gearing up for summer, find out how the world’s best players have been spending their days.

Fognini enjoyed a day in the woods near his home in Italy.

 

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Into the woods ?? #afternoon #inspiration

A post shared by Fabio Fognini (@fabiofogna) on May 26, 2020 at 9:05am PDT

Medvedev showed off his new summer haircut.

 

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#newlook ??

A post shared by Medvedev Daniil (@medwed33) on May 24, 2020 at 5:22am PDT

Rafael Nadal hit the practice court for the first time in two months.

The video ? we were all waiting for‼️ ? @rafaelnadal is back to the courts of the #RafaNadalAcademyByMovistar! VAMOS‼️ pic.twitter.com/Mg7Xibwy07

— Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar (@rnadalacademy) May 25, 2020

Stefanos Tsitsipas took time to thank frontline healthcare workers.

Thanks to all the doctors and nurses around the world. You were and still are an inspiration!

— Stefanos Tsitsipas (@StefTsitsipas) May 24, 2020

John Isner made it clear that he’d give anything to be competing right now.

Never thought I’d miss clay courts this much

— John Isner (@JohnIsner) May 27, 2020

Yuichi Sugita rejoiced at being able to resume his training.

Working hard ?@sugitayuichi88 back out on the court! pic.twitter.com/FEcYhTbsUx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 28, 2020

Mackenzie McDonald took on the Splash Challenge.

 

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Good to be back on the court ?? #splashchallenge ? with @chanellezie

A post shared by Mackie Mackenzie MackDonald (@mackiemacster) on May 23, 2020 at 3:15pm PDT

Robert Farah had his hands full with feeding four dogs.

 

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En la cuarentena uno aprende muchas cosas! Que tal mis dones de entrenador de perro? ? Las Samarias Vs @tacoandroma ? Disfruto demasiado este momento! Que perrito es tu preferido?

A post shared by robertfarah (@robertfarah) on May 26, 2020 at 5:07am PDT

Jamie Murray sharpened his golf skills.

 

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⛳️ ?️‍♂️ 2.5hrs round the west course today @wentworth_club – how golf should be! #golf #wentworth #foreright #fairway #green

A post shared by Jamie Murray (@jamie__murray) on May 26, 2020 at 10:53am PDT

John McEnroe announced his arrival to tennis fans in 1977 as a brash 18-year-old whose temperamental outbursts made him the face of teen angst. Nearly 45 years later, he’s reprising that role for a new Netflix series.

The former No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings has a recurring voice-over role in Never Have I Ever and makes a cameo appearance in the season finale. The show is created by Mindy Kaling, best known for her role as Kelly Kapoor in the American version of The Office. McEnroe is the narrator for the inner voice and life of 15-year-old girl Devi Vishwakumar, played by Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who struggles with the recent death of her father.

”I don’t know why it works,” McEnroe said to The New York Times. “At first, people are like, ‘What?’ I’m not the normal voice-over sound.”

Although it might seem odd to have McEnroe narrating a teenage girl’s obsession with an attractive male swimmer, as he does in one episode, the tennis legend was specifically sought for the role. Kaling cited Vishwakumar’s temperamental moments throughout the series, such as shattering her bedroom window with a textbook, as areas that he would be suited to analyse.

“When we decided that the character of Devi would have a temper, the McEnroe thing just kept coming back,” Kaling told USA Today. “Someone who’s high-achieving but is undermined by their own temper. He has really high standards for himself and everyone around him. We kept talking about him and were like, ‘Wait, should he be doing the narration?’ Devi’s dad loved tennis and it timed out that he would have grown up watching McEnroe.” 

But the age gap between McEnroe and 18-year-old Ramakrishnan was evident in other ways. The actress admitted having to Google who McEnroe was before they began filming.

The entire first season of Never Have I Ever is currently available to stream on Netflix.

Dirk Nowitzki is widely considered one of the best NBA players of his era. The German was a 14-time All Star, the 2007 Most Valuable Player, and plenty more. Not many know that growing up, he loved playing tennis.

“I grew up playing a double-handed backhand, and then once I stopped playing when I was about 14, 15, I kind of went away and put all my eggs into the basketball basket and took 10, 11 years off and never really played,” Nowitzki said. “Once I got to my mid-20s, in the summer I started playing again and then my double-handed backhand was completely gone! I didn’t even know how to hold it anymore. Then I actually switched to a one-hander.”

That is the shot the basketball star enjoys watching most in today’s game, and there are a few players in particular whose one-hander he is in awe of.

“Roger to me is of course one of the best. Stan Wawrinka has a laser of a one-hander, and he’s super-fun to watch with his power game. Dominic Thiem is coming up and his one-hander is beautiful and powerful,” Nowitzki said. “That’s just to name a few. There are so many great one-handers in the game.”

Has Nowitzki been able to replicate their one-handers when he gets on the court?

“I slice a lot and if I do get it, I do a little spin,” Nowitzki said. “I’ve tried both in my career. My backhand is definitely my weak spot.”

If Nowitzki had to pick one all-time one-handed backhand to add to his arsenal, it would come from his good friend, fellow German Tommy Haas, who is less than three months older than Nowitzki.

“I love a beautiful one-handed backhand. My boy Tommy Haas has one of the prettiest one-handed backhands ever on Tour, so I’d probably use his,” Nowitzki said. “My game is more forehand and serve, so backhand definitely needs some help.”

Growing up, Nowitzki had star Germans to look up to in Boris Becker and Steffi Graf. “Everybody tried to be like them,” he said. Nowitzki played attacking tennis in his junior tournaments, keeping points short.

“When you’re tall, the movement is not quite there as much for me,” Nowitzki said. “I tried to keep the points short with an aggressive serve and aggressive forehand.”

^{Photo Credit: Dallas Mavericks}
The German has held four annual Dirk Nowitzki Pro Celebrity Tennis Classics to raise funds for the Dirk Nowitzki Foundation. At those events, current or former pros like Haas, Andy Roddick, John Isner and Mark Knowles play with celebrities, like Nowitzki and his former Dallas Mavericks teammates. But that’s not a one-off tennis moment for Nowitzki each year.

“I’m still a tennis fan more than anything. I watch it all the time. Sometimes I’ll sit there in the evening and the kids are in bed and I’ll just flip to the Tennis Channel and watch random tournaments somewhere indoors in a little town and it’s a Challenger,” Nowitzki said. “I love watching tennis, I watch it all the time and it’s fascinating some of the shots they hit out of positions that are really hopeless. It’s just an amazing game and something new always happens. It’s such an athletic game now and the shotmaking is incredible.”

Almost every junior tennis player has a rival growing up. But it’s not often those kids grow up to be so good that they battle for the No. 1 FedEx ATP Ranking.

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, who were born one week apart in May 1987, first played one another aged 11. But not only have they remained great friends more than two decades later, they have developed a captivating rivalry.

“We have known each other since very, very early days,” Djokovic said at the 2016 Rolex Paris Masters, where Murray clinched World No. 1 for the first time. “To see how he has raised his level in the past 12 months is quite extraordinary.”

When Djokovic and Murray clash, there has almost always been a lot at stake. Nineteen of their 36 ATP Head2Head meetings (Djokovic leads 25-11) have come in a final, and 33 of their 36 meetings have come at a Grand Slam, ATP Masters 1000, the Nitto ATP Finals or the Olympics. They have met in all four Grand Slam finals.

The childhood friends first played for a tour-level trophy at the 2008 Western & Southern Open, when they were both 21. Djokovic was already a four-time Masters 1000 champion, and he’d won that year’s Australian Open. The Serbian earned plenty of momentum in the semi-finals with a straight-sets victory against Rafael Nadal. But Murray, a first-time Masters 1000 finalist who was ranked No. 9, would not be denied, defeating Djokovic 7-6(4), 7-6(5).

“I played some rocket tennis, the way my coach says,” Djokovic said. “Today I was trying to do the same, but I got rocket back.”

Djokovic has won 14 more matches than Murray in their rivalry, but in title matches, the Serbian leads 11-8.

The pair plays a similar style: Djokovic and Murray are both excellent on defence, capable of playing aggressively, and they are two of the best returners in the sport.

“When you play against the best players in the world you go in knowing that you have to play great tennis to win,” Murray said. “Sometimes you do and you don’t win. They’re that good.”

The biggest moment of their decades-long rivalry came at the 2016 Nitto ATP Finals. The week before, Murray had taken World No. 1 for the first time. But both men worked their way to the final, and the winner was guaranteed the coveted year-end No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

“Seems like a movie story scenario,” Djokovic said before the championship match. “It’s a script.”

Murray, who saved a match point in his semi-final against Milos Raonic, played clean tennis to defeat Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 to take the title and World No. 1. It was his 23rd consecutive win, capping a fairytale run to end 2016 atop tennis’ mountain.

“It was obviously a big, big match against someone who I’ve played so many big matches against in my career. That would be my main rival really throughout my career,” Murray said of Djokovic. “We played in all of the Slam finals, Olympics, obviously here now, and a match to finish the year No. 1. We played in loads of Masters Series finals, as well, and are one week apart in age. It was obviously a big match, a very important win for me. It was just a huge match to finish the year, to try and obviously finish No. 1.” 

Even though Djokovic and Murray have played for each of the Grand Slam titles, World No. 1, and plenty more, they’ve always maintained the utmost respect for one another. According to Murray, off the court, they don’t discuss tennis.

“When me and Novak speak with each other, we don’t talk about tennis, rankings, the matches we play against each other,” Murray said. in 2016 “Maybe when we finish playing, that might change. But we talk about each other’s families, children and stuff. We chatted at length this year quite a lot because obviously I became a father the first time. We spoke about the difficulty in keeping the sort of balance in your life with the family and the travelling and the work and everything.”

That was at the same time as they battled for World No. 1, showing that rivals could be great friends, too.