“He made me understand all this about myself,” Andrey Rublev reveals how Marat Safin helped him recover from depression

Andrey Rublev has revealed that compatriot and Russin tennis great Marat Safin has helped him in his recovery from depression.

“He made me understand all this about myself,” Andrey Rublev reveals how Marat Safin helped him recover from depression

Andrey Rublev and Marat Safin (via Imago)

Andrey Rublev has revealed that two-time Grand Slam champion and tennis legend Marat Safin helped him recover from depression. The Russian ace’s off-court struggles have affected his performance this season.

The 26-year-old has had a difficult up-and-down display all year as he struggled to maintain consistency. His troubling on-court behavior has generated the wrong kind of headlines too. In February at the Dubai Open, he was defaulted from a match for the first time in his career after lashing out at a line judge.

The incident was followed by four consecutive early exits from various ATP events. But he somehow managed to put his struggles behind him to win the Madrid Open. Later, he decided not to compete at the Paris Olympics, opting to fix his mental health. He has revealed that he spoke with Russian legend Safin, who helped him recover from his depression.

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I tried to understand a lot of things by myself. With a psychologist, with different courses, but the one who helped me a lot and made me understand all this about myself was Marat Safin. It’s funny, but it’s true. It was Marat who helped me. After Wimbledon, we had a very good conversation. Yes, he helped me a lot, so a big thank you to him.

Andrey Rublev said (via welovetennis)

Rublev recently reached the final of the Canadian Open, his first since winning the Madrid Open. He finished as the runner-up, losing to Alexei Popyrin in the final.

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Alexei Popyrin excited to win the Canadian Open after stunning Andrey Rublev in the final

Andrey Rublev lost the Canadian Open title to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin after losing 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and twenty-nine minutes final. The Russian was the favorite to claim his second Masters 1000 title of the season after beating Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals, but he could not get past the Australian.

Alexei Popyrin
Alexei Popyrin (Via Imago)

Popyrin was a deserved winner of the Canadian Open title after beating Washington Open champion Sebastian Korda in the semifinals and upsetting Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz previously. After the victory, he admitted the title meant the world to him.

It means so much, it means the world. All the hard work that I’ve put in over the last few years. All the sacrifices that I’ve made, not just me but my family, my girlfriend, my team, everybody around me.

Alexei Popyrin said (via The Guardian)

This win sees Popyrin move from World No. 62 to No. 23 in the ATP rankings. He has secured a first-time Grand Slam seeding for the US Open which gets underway on August 26.

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