Season Portrait: Andrey Rublev
Over the course of eight days, ATPTour.com is serving up a season snapshot of the eight players who qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals. The series is illustrated by intimate portraits shot by British photographer Simon Owen. Yesterday, we began the series with Diego Schwartzman. Today, we look at Andrey Rublev’s season.
Memorable Moment
Andrey Rublev wasted no time making a splash this season. Rublev lifted trophies in the first two weeks of the season in Doha and Adelaide. He became the first player to triumph in the season’s first two weeks since Dominik Hrbaty in 2004. The righty did so impressively, winning 14 of his 16 sets at those events by a margin of 6-4 or greater.
Key Stat
Beginning with Hamburg, Rublev went on a stretch during which he won 19 of 20 matches and three of his five titles on the year, all at ATP 500 events. He saved perhaps his best performance during that period for last, upsetting Dominic Thiem on home soil in Vienna en route to the Erste Bank Open title.
Quotable
“It was not [an] easy [time] for millions of people because they were losing jobs [due to the COVID-19 pandemic]… Maybe they didn’t have enough money to live a [normal] life. For sure, I’m not the one who can complain.”
The Road Ahead
In 2021, Rublev will try to live up to his own goals and maintain his place in the Top 10. Now that he is among the elite group, the Russian will attempt to make deeper runs at ATP Masters 1000s, where he has not yet reached a final. He will also try to chase 2020 Nitto ATP Finals champion Daniil Medvedev, the World No. 4, for the No. 1 Russian spot.
Photo: Simon Owen/Wonderhatch