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Russian to face defending champ Basilashvili for the title
Andrey Rublev began his week in Hamburg having made just one ATP Tour quarter-final this season. And on Saturday, the 2017-18 Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier was on the brink of elimination when he trailed Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 2-4.

But the Russian battled back to defeat Carreno Busta 4-6, 7-5, 6-1, advancing to the Hamburg European Open final.

“At one moment I didn’t give up, but kind of accepted that he is much better than me today,” said Rublev. “I broke him back (at 4-3 in the second set), then he got a little tight and I started to play even better. In the third set, I felt much more confident… and then everything was so fast.”

It was the second incredible comeback of the day in Hamburg, as Nikoloz Basilashvili, Rublev’s opponent in the championship match, saved two match points en route to ousting reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion Alexander Zverev. Rublev did not need to save a match point, but he won 11 of the match’s final 13 games to triumph after one hour and 52 minutes.

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This will be Rublev’s first ATP Tour final since 2018 Doha, which came in the first week of last season. The Russian won his maiden tour-level trophy two years ago in Umag as a lucky loser.

Rublev, who climbed as high as No. 31 in the ATP Rankings last February, has struggled with injuries over the past year and a half. He missed three months last season due to a lower back stress fracture, and he was out for six weeks this year due to a wrist injury.

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It seemed Carreno Busta, who was pursuing his first final since triumphing in Estoril two years ago, was too solid from the baseline for the powerful Rublev. But the 21-year-old began to find his range, frustrating the Spaniard. And once the World No. 78 got into a rhythm, he rode his momentum to the finish line.

Rublev crushed an inside-out forehand winner to finish the match, turning around to his team and pumping his fist in celebration. The Russian struck 11 aces and broke Carreno Busta’s serve five times.

Basilashvili won his only previous FedEx ATP Head2Head match against Rublev, emerging victorious in straight sets in Doha earlier this year. Rublev will try to lift his first ATP 500 trophy when he battles the defending champion.

“Everybody is tired, everybody has had tough matches. It’s a different feeling and different emotions, so we’ll see how it’s going to be tomorrow,” said Rublev. “It’s my first ATP 500 final. Of course, I’d like to win and will try my best, but it’s been an amazing week for me.”

Russian to face the World No. 3 for the first time
Russian Andrey Rublev is slowly making his way back into the form that saw him reach the US Open quarter-finals two years ago and back-to-back Next Gen ATP Finals appearances in Milan.

The 21-year-old Rublev saved all five break points against World No. 23 Stan Wawrinka on Wednesday to advance 6-4, 6-4 and reach the third round of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati. It's the third time Rublev has made the third round at an ATP Masters 1000 event (Indian Wells, Miami) this year and comes on the heels of his best tournament of the season, the Hamburg European Open last month.

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There, Rublev gained his first Top 5 win (1-6) against No. 4 Dominic Thiem, made his first ATP Tour final since January 2018 (Doha, l. to Monfils) and his first ATP 500 final. The Russian fell to Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final but avenged that loss in his Cincinnati opener before breezing past Wawrinka, who landed only 48 per cent of his first serves.

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Rublev has long been one to watch on the ATP Tour. He reached the final of 2017 Next Gen ATP Finals (l. to Chung) and made the semi-finals in Milan in 2018. But a lower back stress fracture forced him to miss three months last season and a wrist injury kept him out of Roland Garros and the start of the grass-court season this year.

Rublev will next meet seven-time Cincy champion Roger Federer in their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Federer beat Juan Ignacio Londero 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday night. The Swiss is playing in his first tournament since falling to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final on 14 July.

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.

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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).

Russian reflects on journey back to health as he seeks his best tennis
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.”

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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.

Two-time Next Gen ATP Finals qualifier earns upset of the week
Russian qualifier Andrey Rublev stunned seven-time champion Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati for his second Top 5 victory in as many months.

The 21-year-old Rublev, No. 70 in the ATP Rankings after injury woes the past two seasons, pounded Federer's backhand with a barrage of all-in forehands and never slowed down, breaking the third seed three times for the match.

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Federer tried bringing Rublev forward but the Russian delivered volleys with newfound touch. The Swiss sprinted to net more often, but his usual reliable volleys were lacking.

Rublev, who twice competed at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, is through to his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final and will meet Coupe Rogers finalist Daniil Medvedev for a place in the semi-finals. Medvedev eased past Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-2, 6-1 to reach his third consecutive quarter-final.