Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev, ranked sixth in the ATP world rankings, is once again going through difficult times in his career. The current season has started quite successfully for the second Russian racket. At the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, the 26-year-old Muscovite reached the quarter-finals, where he only lost to the future winner of the 2024 Australian Open, Italian Jannik Sinner.
But then Andrei found himself in a protracted crisis that lasted three months. From February to May, Rublev failed to achieve any major victories and was unable to demonstrate high results. In the first week of May, the Russian’s black streak in the game seemed to have turned white: Rublev scored six victories in a row and won the title at the Masters Series tournament in Madrid.
But then came the failure. The Russian performed unsuccessfully at Roland Garros 2024, leaving the fight already in the third round. In the lost match against the Italian Matteo Arnaldi (6-7, 2-6, 4-6), the Russian not only showed a very mediocre game, but again could not cope with his inner demons. On that day, Rublev returned to all the emotional problems that had haunted the tennis player throughout his career. In despair, he kicked the backboard and juggled the racket.
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The switch to grass turned out to be another setback for the Russian athlete: his performance at the Halle tournament was as fleeting as possible: a quick exit in the first round from the American Marcos Giron, who was missing stars from the sky (4:6, 6:7). Around the same time, Rublev also refused to compete at the 2024 Olympics, which was explained by the tennis player’s closest circle by his health problems.
It was against this emotional backdrop that Andrei arrived at the third Grand Slam tournament of the season. At this Wimbledon, Rublev needs to defend the great points he earned last season thanks to his access to the quarter-finals. The Russian’s first rival was the Argentine Francisco Comesaña, who is ranked only 122nd in the world.
Like any self-respecting Argentine, Comesaña’s main profile is to play on clay. This season, Francisco played only three matches in ATP tournaments. All were played in Latin America on slow surfaces, and each of the three matches ended in defeat for the Argentine. Thus, before the match against Rublev, Comesaña’s ATP record this season was as follows: 3 losses in 3 matches.
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It would seem that the first round match should have been a piece of cake for Andrey, but from the first set it was clear that the Russian would once again face a very difficult test and a fight not only with his opponent, but also with himself. Rublev lost the first set 4:6, then restored the balance in the games 7:5, but failed at the start of the third set 1:4 with two breaks.
For the first time in the third set, Andrei lost his serve in the third game, and in the fifth, Comesaña again reached a break point. With the score at 30:40, Rublev hit a forehand from the baseline, sending the ball into the stands. Out of excitement, Andrei started hitting himself with a racket, which caused him to break his knee.
Andrei Rublev at Wimbledon
Photo: Screenshot of the broadcast.
Andrei Rublev at Wimbledon
Photo: Screenshot of the broadcast.
Rublev poured out his emotions so diligently that he managed to injure himself: the Russian’s leg broke and bled. Luckily for Andrey, rain fell again in London at the best possible moment. The game was stopped and the medical workers had enough time to put the Russian’s leg back in order. But it is much more important that Rublev manages to control his emotional state, otherwise his performance at Wimbledon 2024 will be very short-lived.
It is worth noting that knee strikes are a kind of Rublev trick. The Russian tennis player does not spare himself and very often shows his emotions in this way. One of the most memorable incidents occurred in November 2023 in a meeting with the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the tournament. Then Rublev again swore at himself, and then at some point the Russian hit himself several times on the knee and broke it until it bled. After that, he gave away the second set almost dryly.
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“Why knees? There are two reasons for this. Firstly, because of the scandals. I am very selective, it is difficult for me to find rackets that I like. Even if they are the same, out of 15 rackets only two or three are suitable for me. That is why I am embarrassed to hit them on the court again, because if they break then I have to go looking for them again. And that can take a lot of time, so I hit my knees and not the court.
Secondly, sometimes I feel so resentful towards myself that I don’t know what else to do to give myself a signal that it’s time to wake up. At such moments, I try to tell myself: “Wake up! Half of the match has passed and you haven’t done anything.” All this leads to this outburst of anger. And immediately after this outburst I feel guilty because I step on the same rake again. Because all these crazy people are not needed at all, they don’t help me at all, I understand that. But at the moment I just don’t know what else to do to communicate with myself,” Rublev said in an interview with “Championship”, explaining this behavior.
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“I hit my knees because it’s a shame to break rackets.” Frank conversation with Rublev
Apparently, in the match against Argentinian Comesaña at Wimbledon, the Russian once again failed to come up with any other way to overcome the third set. Perhaps a break in the rain will do Andrey good?
