Andrey Rublev has had another up-and-down season on the ATP Tour but has once again secured his place at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Rublev began his season by reaching his second consecutive quarter-final at the Australian Open, where he fell to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
The Russian’s best result of his season came on the clay, when Rublev won the Madrid Open, beating Felix Auger-Aliassime, to take home his second Masters 1000 title.
His season has once again been marred by a series of violent outbursts on the court however, with Rublev’s meltdown at the French Open causing concern amongst fans.
Rublev improved his behavior in the Montreal Open final defeat to Alexei Popyrin, where many thought the 27-year-old had turned a new page and put the outbursts behind him.
Unfortunately, the problem reappeared last week, when Rublev broke down once more at the Paris Masters, in defeat to Francisco Cerundolo.
Many within the sport feel as though Rublev’s violence on the court is becoming too much, and one tennis legend is saying that something needs to be done.
Andy Roddick reveals his thoughts on concerning Andrey Rublev incident
Speaking on his Served with Andy Roddick podcast, the former world number one gave his thoughts on how he and the rest of the ATP Tour view Andrey Rublev.
“I like Andrey Rublev a lot,” he said.
“Everyone in the locker room really likes Andrey Rublev.
“He’s one of the most liked guys on tour, everyone likes his personality.”
Roddick says that he isn’t trying to come after Rublev for his recent outbursts but is just looking out for him.
“I watch it and I don’t think it’s funny,” said Roddick.
“This isn’t as if we are going after Rublev, it comes from a genuine place of concern.”
The 2003 US Open champion proposed a potential rule change that could prevent similar outbursts from happening in the future.
“How about if you hit yourself you get a warning?” he said.
“If you break the racket on the deck you would get that, but I just feel that breaking your racket on the court is a way lesser evil than self-harm out there.”
Can Andrey Rublev spring an upset at the ATP Finals?
Rublev will be looking to put his violent outbursts behind him at this year’s ATP Finals in Turin.
The Russian secured qualification to the event after Novak Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals due to injury.
Rublev had looked as though he could miss out on the year-end finals for the first time since 2019, as he currently sits in ninth in the Race to Turin, but Djokovic’s withdrawal confirmed his place.
The 27-year-old will be joined by Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Taylor Fritz, Casper Ruud and Alex de Minaur in Italy.
Rublev will be one of the big underdogs in Turin, but how has he fared against his potential opponents in the past?
- Andrey Rublev 3 – 6 Jannik Sinner
- Andrey Rublev 3 – 6 Alexander Zverev
- Andrey Rublev 1 – 1 Carlos Alcaraz
- Andrey Rublev 2 – 7 Daniil Medvedev
- Andrey Rublev 4 – 5 Taylor Fritz
- Andrey Rublev 5 – 2 Casper Ruud
- Andrey Rublev 3 – 4 Alex de Minaur
If history is anything to go off, Rublev could well be in for a tough time in Turin, as he only holds a positive head-to-head against one of his Turin counterparts.
He has however, beaten every member of the field at least once in his career to date, so if things fall in to place, you never know what could happen.
Rublev is competing in Metz before he heads to Turin and will return to court on Wednesday for the quarter-finals.
