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Andrey Rublev part of the new guard in men’s tennis

By Veronica Elizabeth Bruno

MILAN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 11: Andrey Rublev of Russia looks on in his match against Hyeon Chung of South Korea during the mens final on day 5 of the Next Gen ATP Finals on November 11, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images)
MILAN, ITALY - NOVEMBER 11: Andrey Rublev of Russia looks on in his match against Hyeon Chung of South Korea during the mens final on day 5 of the Next Gen ATP Finals on November 11, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Emilio Andreoli/Getty Images) /
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Andrey Rublev is only 20, but he’s one of the hottest players on the Tour. He was the finalist in the NextGen tournament last year and just made the final in Doha. 

Russia’s Andrey Rublev won his first ATP title last year, the Plava Laguna Croatian Open. He also made it to the quarterfinals at the U.S. Open. But before he was defeated by tournament champ Rafael Nadal in that match, he beat top-ranked players Grigor Dimitrov and David Goffin along the way. And now he just played in the Qatar Open in Doha against Gael Monfils.

Although the Umag and Doha tournaments are both ATP 250’s, Qatar is on a much bigger stage since it attracts big names like Novak Djokovic — who won here twice — and is considered a warm-up to the Australian Open. Playing the final there is perhaps a sign to come for the year from this 20-year-old talent.

Djokovic was supposed to play in Doha, but canceled plans after dealing with continued elbow problems in practice (he is still scheduled to appear at the Australian Open next week). And with other big names — Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori and Rafael Nadal — still questionable at best, a lot of focus in the field of tennis is turning towards the younger generation, and there’s a lot to be excited about.

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Rublev is one such star. He played a mix of Challenger and main draw events last year, and demonstrated skill in some of the bigger tournaments, including breaking through to the quarters in Halle — an ATP 500 — where he beat higher-ranked player Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the first round. The 20-year-old Russian also pushed through to the quarters at the ATP 500 Beijing Open, with two major wins of top 10 players in the first two rounds: first Jack Sock (during his great run) and then Tomas Berdych.

Currently ranked 32, the young sensation has achieved his highest ranking after the Qatar final. He also showed fight during the tourney by coming back from match point in his semifinal against Guido Pella, fighting back from 4-5 to win the crucial tie break 7-6(2) in the third set.

He may have lost the final to Gael Monfils, 2-6, 3-6, in the Frenchman’s fourth (and successful) attempt in Doha, but with all the talk of a changing of the guard — with many of the older gentleman out on the ATP Tour — Rublev is just one of those players who could make it happen.

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