While most Russian athletes are still banned from most major tournaments around the world, including 2022 Wimbledon, the world is watching the U.S. Open with bated breath, where two Russians, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov have successfully made it into the quarterfinals.
Andrey Rublev’s big titles
Rublev is now considered one of the most talented young Russian tennis players and already one of the most decorated. Now aged 24, in 2014, he became the first Russian to win Roland Garros (French Open) as a junior and was ranked world number 1 among juniors.
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At the moment, Rublev is ranked 11th in the Association of Tennis Professionals ranking, dropping out of the top 10 this August for the first time since 2020. He has already 10 big wins in ATP tournaments and he has broken into both the top 10 and the top 5 of the prestigious ranking.
Andrey turned professional in 2014 and enjoyed his first successful season in 2017. He became a “lucky loser” at Roland Garros after he lost three sets in the quarter-finals to his compatriot, the abovementioned Karen Khachanov. But then, he performed at the Croatia Open and won it, gaining his first ATP title.
His first U.S. Open appearance also came in 2017. He made it to the quarter-finals, but was defeated by Rafael Nadal. In 2020, he again couldn’t make it further than the quarter-finals, defeated by Russian Daniil Medvedev.
Rublev did, however, win the Qatar Open 2020 (and, in 2021, won the doubles with Aslan Karatsev at the same tournament). Rublev also won gold at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics in the mixed doubles with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.
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In 2022, he has already won the Dubai Tennis Championship, while one of his very last victories was the 2022 Serbia Open, where he shocked everyone by beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
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Still despite all the achievements, Rublev hasn’t been further than the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament.
Almost born at the court
Rublev spent his entire childhood in Moscow on a tennis court - his mother, famous tennis coach Marina Marienko, was once trainer of a range of great players, including Anna Kurnikova. So, he first picked up a racket at age three.
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Andrey’s whole family is devoted to sport. His sister also used to be a tennis player and is now also a trainer. His father owns a restaurant chain in Moscow, but used to be a professional boxer.
“My life was on the court. I spent whole days, from morning to evening, and it was not only about tennis - all my friends were there,” Rublev once said in an interview.
As a junior, Andrey trained with his mother, but, since 2016, Andrey mostly has been training in Barcelona with his current trainer, Fernando Vicente.
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Andrey’s main hobby (outside of tennis) is music and, at the moment, he is trying himself in composing and recording electronic music.
He is also considered one of the most stylish tennis players and recently became the face of a Bulgari advertising campaign.
Being such a celebrated tennis player (and having earned quite a lot of money from successful tournament performances), Andrey is still quite a shy and modest person. He isn’t that active on social media and doesn’t like to show off.
As a young athlete who has trained abroad for many years already, Andrey admits that he feels a bit lonely. He frequently misses home and is always happy to see friends and family every time he visits Moscow. However, in one interview, he admitted having lost the sense of home. So, everytime he feels lonely, he simply plays tennis to distract himself.
AP
“Perhaps, my self-demanding attitude is one of the reasons I’ve been able to improve my results lately,” Rublev says.
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