Editor’s Note: This story was originally published on 25 March 2019. Andrey Rublev upset seven-time champion Roger Federer on Thursday in Cincinnati to reach the quarter-finals at the Western & Southern Open. 

Last February, Russian Andrey Rublev reached his career-high ATP Ranking of No. 31. Two months later, he was at home on his sofa… literally.

The 2017 Umag champion and two-time Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier missed three months last year due to a lower back stress fracture. He would spend three hours per day at a clinic doing magnetotherapy, eating lunch, and sitting on the sofa. In his words, he was doing ‘nothing’.

“That time was really tough for me. I was completely depressed, I was down. I remember I didn’t watch any tennis matches because as soon as I watched tennis news or something, I was feeling even more depressed that all the guys were playing and competing. They were on tour and I was there on the sofa doing nothing,” Rublev said. “It was a really tough moment and I’m happy that it’s almost already one year past and hopefully it’s never going to happen again.”

Rublev was desperate to return to action. He had reached the Doha final in his first tournament of 2018, a good start to the year. But he had no choice but to rehab.

“In that moment inside I was like, ‘I can’t wait, I want to be back on court as fast as possible’,” Rublev remembered. “But as soon as I arrived for my first tournament, I remember I was a little bit lost. I felt like I wasn’t there. I was feeling like I was in the past when I was playing well before the injury. To recover this mental part of being here in this moment took me a couple of months.”

Listen To ATP Radio’s Interview With Rublev:

Rublev reached the semi-finals of the Citi Open, an ATP 500 tournament, in his third tournament after returning in July. But that was the best result of his comeback, also making the semi-finals in his second appearance of the Next Gen ATP Finals.

Last February, Rublev was the Russian No. 1, ahead of then-World No. 47 Karen Khachanov and No. 50 Daniil Medvedev, who also made Milan in 2017. Both Khachanov and Medvedev are now inside the World’s Top 15, while Rublev is searching for his best tennis.

“To be honest if you talk about the guys, then I’m happy for them. If they’re winning, it means I also have enough level to win these matches, to win those tournaments, so I’m happy for them because we’re not enemies, we are friends,” Rublev said. “My goal is not if I do better [than them] or not. My goal is bigger. It’s to win big tournaments.”

Rublev has shown flashes of his best tennis in recent weeks, qualifying in both Indian Wells and Miami. In the California desert, the 21-year-old advanced to the third round, in which he lost to Khachanov. On Saturday, he upset ninth seed Marin Cilic in straight sets to reach the third round in Miami, earning a clash with #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

The Cilic win is Rublev’s best by ATP Ranking since the 2017 US Open, where he beat Grigor Dimitrov. The Russian applied tons of pressure on former World No. 3 Cilic, earning 22 break points.

“It definitely is amazing for me, especially against a great player like Marin. I’ve known him a long time. I played him once a couple years ago, so I knew it was going to be very tough for me,” Rublev said. “I’m really happy that I won and I’m sure it’s going to give me much more confidence and I hope I will improve and play better and better.”

Rublev has been slowly feeling better this season. He points to a strong base he built during his off-season training in Barcelona.

“I started to move better, I started to feel that I was hitting the ball quite well. Then I was a little bit out mentally,” Rublev said. “But now mentally I’m much better and now everything is starting to come all together. Little by little, I’m starting to win some good matches.

“I completely forgot about my injury the past couple of months. I’m already playing fully: full practice, full intensity. So hopefully everything is recovered inside of my body and I’m hopefully 100 per cent healthy.”

It’s clear that Rublev has the potential to make up ground, and quickly. According to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili, who plays a similarly big-hitting game, the Russian has a bright future ahead of him.

“I think he has big potential. He’s a very good ball-striker from the baseline and I am pretty sure he will have a really great career,” Basilashvili said. He had the problem with his back and hopefully he will fully recover soon. I think he’s a really good player.”

Rublev is currently the World No. 99, and he fell as low as No. 115 in February. But the Russian is not worrying about that. He’s only concerned with his tennis.

“That was the last time I opened my ranking and then I never opened it again. Maybe sometimes I saw my name and sometimes on the draw they put the number and then I saw it. But I never opened it to see where I was in the Race or how many points I’m going to lose or gain,” Rublev said. “I haven’t looked since that time, because then you start to feel a little bit stressed and I don’t want to feel stressed.”

Rublev just wants to work hard, earn his way back to the stage, and compete with the very best in the sport.

Daniil Medvedev continued his excellent form on the North American hard-court swing on Thursday afternoon when he took apart the powerful game of Stefanos Tsitsipas’ conqueror, Jan-Lennard Struff, at the Western & Southern Open.

Ninth seed Medvedev committed just 12 unforced errors and won 18 of his German opponent’s 25 second-service points to triumph 6-3, 6-1 in 66 minutes on Grandstand.

The Russian, who is currently in sixth position in the 2019 ATP Race To London for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals, to be held at The O2 in the English capital from 10-17 November, has now won 11 of his past 13 matches. On Friday, he is set to meet seven-time former Cincinnati champion and third seed Roger Federer or compatriot Andrey Rublev.

Medvedev took a 3-0 lead, before Struff stepped into court to produce his characteristic winners, and the 23-year-old Russian won 17 of the first 21 points in the second set. He extends his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Struff to 3-0.

The consistent Medvedev, who has a 41-16 match record in 2019, has finished runner-up at two consecutive ATP Tour events — the Citi Open in Washington, D.C. (l. to Kyrgios) and the Coupe Rogers in Montreal (l. to Nadal) — in the past couple of weeks. In February, Medvedev lifted his fourth tour-level trophy at the Sofia Open (d. Fucsovics).

See Where To Watch The Western & Southern Open

Richard Gasquet turned back the clock in a vintage performance on Thursday at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati to reach the quarter-finals.

Gasquet, who underwent groin surgery in January, competed with great intelligence to record a 7-6(6), 6-3 victory over Diego Schwartzman of Argentina in one hour and 48 minutes.

The 33-year-old Frenchman recovered from 2/5 down in the first set tie-break and saved two set points from 4/6, prior to taking a 3-0 lead in the second set. He booked a place in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final since April 2018 at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters with a forehand winner — his 34th of the match. Gasquet won 42 of his 77 points in rallies under five strokes.

He will next face Spanish No. 11 seed Roberto Bautista Agut, the recent Wimbledon semi-finalist (l. to Djokovic) or qualifier Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia. Bautista Agut can break into the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings for the first time if he wins.

Earlier in the day, Yoshihito Nishioka continued his fairytale run to reach his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Twenty-four hours after beating his hero, fellow Japanese Kei Nishikori, for the first Top 10 victory of his career, the 23-year-old qualifier worked his way past #NextGenATP Australian Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4 in 83 minutes. He will next face Belgian No. 16 seed David Goffin or Adrian Mannarino of France on Friday.

One break of serve in each set was enough for Nishioka to beat De Minaur, who won 28 of 32 first-service points. Nishioka beat Australian John Millman and Portuguese Joao Sousa to qualify for the main draw of his seventh Masters 1000 tournament, then defeated another Aussie in Jordan Thompson in the first round.

The 20-year-old De Minaur drops to a 20-14 match record on the season that includes two ATP Tour titles at the Sydney International (d. Seppi) and BB&T Atlanta Open (d. Fritz).

See Where To Watch The Western & Southern Open

Russian Karen Khachanov gutted out a 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-2 win against Nick Kyrgios on Wednesday evening to reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Khachanov served for the opening set and had a set point on Kyrgios’ serve at 5-6, Ad Out. But Kyrgios erased it with a second-serve ace and hit two more aces to force a tie-break.

The World No. 9 rebounded in the second-set tie-break, though, gaining a mini-break and serving out the set. In the third, Khachanov rolled, ending the match with four straight games.

“It was a really difficult match for me. I had to really work it out to get the win,” Khachanov said.

The 2018 Rolex Paris Masters titlist is looking to reach back-to-back Masters 1000 semi-finals after making the last four at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal (l. to Medvedev) last week. The Russian will meet France’s Lucas Pouille for a place in the quarter-finals on the line. Khachanov leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1.

Pouille never faced a break point and beat #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-4. The Frenchman, who made the Australian Open semi-finals in January, will try to reach his third tour-level quarter-final of the season (Stuttgart).

“Lucas played two good matches, I think he won two really tough matches,” Khachanov said. “I will be ready for tomorrow.”

Defending champion Novak Djokovic and seven-time titlist Roger Federer respectively take on qualifiers Pablo Carreno Busta and Andrey Rublev on Round of 16 day at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. Djokovic takes a 2-0 FedEx Head2Head record into his match against former World No. 10 Carreno Busta, while Federer faces 21-year-old Rublev for the first time.

In total, four qualifiers — Carreno Busta, Rublev, Miomir Kecmanovic and Yoshihito Nishioka — are through to the Round of 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event for the third time in series history (since 1990).

Opportunities await the players in the bottom half of the draw. Following the exits of Kei Nishikori and Alexander Zverev on Wednesday, only two seeds remain: No. 11 Roberto Bautista Agut and No. 16 David Goffin. Bautista Agut, along with Frenchman Richard Gasquet, are also the only two players remaining in the bottom half who have reached an ATP Masters 1000 final.

Bautista Agut will face Kecmanovic, who’s trying to reach his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season (Indian Wells), and Gasquet will meet Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman in the first match of the day on Centre Court.

On the top half, top-ranked Russian Daniil Medvedev, last week’s Coupe Rogers finalist (l. to Nadal), will try to reach back-to-back Masters 1000 quarter-finals against Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, who upset No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday. Struff, No. 36 in the ATP Rankings, is looking to make his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.

See Where To Watch The Western & Southern Open

SCHEDULE – THURSDAY, 15 AUGUST 2019

CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
D. Schwartzman (ARG) vs [PR] R. Gasquet (FRA) 
Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA match
[3] R. Federer (SUI) vs [Q] A. Rublev (RUS) 
Not Before 7:00 pm
[1] N. Djokovic (SRB) vs [Q] P. Carreno Busta (ESP) 
Not Before 9:00 pm
WTA match

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
WTA match
Not Before 1:00 pm
[9] D. Medvedev (RUS) vs J. Struff (GER) 
[Q] M. Kecmanovic (SRB) vs [11] R. Bautista Agut (ESP) 
L. Pouille (FRA) vs [8] K. Khachanov (RUS) 
Not Before 7:00 pm
WTA match

More From #CincyTennis
* See Where To Watch The Western & Southern Open
* Can You Pass Our Quiz?
* Kecmanovic Notches First Top 10 Win
* Struff Hangs Tough To Upset Tsitsipas
* Rublev Dispatches Wawrinka, Now For Federer
* Nishioka Fulfills Dream, Beats Nishikori

STADIUM 3 start 11:00 am
[Q] Y. Nishioka (JPN) vs A. de Minaur (AUS) 
[16] D. Goffin (BEL) vs A. Mannarino (FRA) 
2 WTA matches
[WC] R. Harrison (USA) / J. Sock (USA) vs [PR] F. Lopez (ESP) / A. Murray (GBR) 

COURT 4 start 12:00 
C. Garin (CHI) / B. Paire (FRA) vs [2] L. Kubot (POL) / M. Melo (BRA) 
After Suitable Rest – D. Schwartzman (ARG) / H. Zeballos (ARG) vs [7] H. Kontinen (FIN) / J. Peers (AUS) 
After Suitable Rest – M. Demoliner (BRA) / D. Medvedev (RUS) vs [6] M. Pavic (CRO) / B. Soares (BRA) 
Not Before 5:00 pm
[1] J. Cabal (COL) / R. Farah (COL) vs [Alt] R. Bopanna (IND) / D. Shapovalov (CAN)

Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski scored the doubles upset of the day on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open, breaking serve five times to reach the quarter-finals over fifth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut 6-3, 6-3.

See where to watch the Western & Southern Open

Third seeds Raven Klaasen and Michael Venus also advanced to the last eight by defeating Austin Krajicek and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-4, 6-4. Venus reached the semi-finals at this event in 2017 (w/Harrison).

In first-round doubles action, Marcelo Demoliner and Daniil Medvedev defeated Coupe Rogers finalists Robin Haase and Wesley Koolhof 7-5, 1-6, 10-6. Demoliner/Medvedev will next play sixth seeds Mate Pavic and Bruno Soares. Rohan Bopanna and Denis Shapovalov beat Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 7-6(6), 7-5, setting up a meeting with top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah.

#NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic kept World No. 6 Alexander Zverev winless at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, advancing 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-4 to earn his first Top 10 win on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Serbian continued his breakout season on the ATP Tour, benefitting from 20 double faults – a personal career-high – from the German, who fell to 0-5 at the season’s seventh ATP Masters 1000 event.

More From #CincyTennis
Secrets To Kecmanovic’s 2019 Rise
Nishioka Ready For The Spotlight After Beating ‘Hero’ Nishikori
Federer, Wawrinka, Djokovic Reveal Favourite Practice Partners
Struff Hangs Tough To Upset Tsitsipas In Cincy
Struff Has An Opinion, And Because Of That, Is Having His Best Season Yet

Kecmanovic reached his first Masters 1000 quarter-final at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and made his maiden ATP Tour final in June at the grass-court Turkish Airlines Open Antalya (l. to Sonego). The Serbian, No. 58 in the ATP Rankings, is expected to crack the Top 50 on Monday when the new standings are released.

“It means a lot because I also broke into the Top 50 today. So it’s a really special moment for me. I’m really happy that I was able to play the way I did. I worked a lot, I practised a lot. To see everything come together and happen, it’s really special,” Kecmanovic said. “I definitely just tried to go for everything. As I said, I had nothing to lose, really. He was the favourite, and it obviously helped me that he didn’t serve as well as he does usually.

“I tried to stay calm. I tried to just use my chances and thankfully it paid off.”

Kecmanovic bolstered his chances of qualifying for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan as well. The teenager currently holds the seventh and final qualification spot in the ATP Race To Milan. Eight players will compete at the 21-and-under event, to be held 5-9 November in Milan, with the eighth position reserved for an Italian wild card.

He will next meet the winner between #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe and 11^th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who made his first Grand Slam semi-final last month at Wimbledon.

In other action, Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who beat former World No. 1 Andy Murray on Monday, remained perfect in Cincy, dismissing Argentina’s Federico Delbonis in straight sets 7-5, 7-6(1). The 33-year-old Gasquet will next meet another Argentine in Diego Schwartzman, who saved all five break points and beat Moldova’s Radu Albot 6-4, 6-2.

Did You Know?
Four qualifiers, including Kecmanovic, are in the Round of 16 at an ATP Masters 1000 event for only the third time in series history (since 1990). The other three qualifiers are Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka and Russian Andrey Rublev. The other two times were at 2005 Hamburg and 2001 Monte-Carlo.

Kei Nishikori has achieved celebrity status in Japan with his career on the ATP Tour. But after scoring his first Top 10 win by defeating the man he described as his “hero” on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open, Yoshihito Nishioka is ready for his own closeup.

“I want to check the morning news tomorrow to see what they’re going to say. Hopefully many spotlight on me,” said Nishioka, cracking a smile. “In Japanese tennis, the only famous players are Kei and Naomi [Osaka]. I want to change that. Hopefully [fans] are going to maybe watch me after the match today.”

In a battle between the two highest-ranked Japanese players on the ATP Tour, it was Nishioka who played like a seasoned veteran. He racked up 12 break points and converted three, hammered serves that clocked in at more than 120 miles per hour and came up with clutch shots at crucial moments.

The 23-year-old Nishioka may not have looked nervous, but that didn’t reflect how he felt. He admitted to intense nerves and the dream of facing his idol led to a sleepless night before the match.

“I was so excited to play with him because he’s the hero of Japanese tennis. I couldn’t sleep yesterday,” said Nishioka. “I was watching him when I was a junior and learning many things from him. I just was trying my best against my hero. I’m very happy today, but most happy about playing with him.” 

Nishikori isn’t a total stranger to him, though. Nishioka used to train during his junior days at the IMG Academy in Florida, where Nishikori is still based, and shared the court with him for practice sessions.

“We played with each other many times in practice. The first time was maybe six or seven years ago. But it’s a very different feeling playing a match,” said Nishioka. “I was always nervous practising with him, but even more nervous today.”

With the pressure of facing his hero off the table, Nishioka can get the night of rest he’ll need as he next faces #NextGenATP Aussie Alex de Minaur. Having come through qualifying this week, their showdown will be Nishioka’s fifth match in six days. But with a chance to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, he’s ready to make another push.

“Right now I’m feeling very good,” said Nishioka. “I got the chance to go as far as I can. I want a higher [ATP Ranking]. My body’s a little bit tired, but I can’t say that. I’ll just try my best.”