Andrey Rublev Reveals Timeline for Marat Safin After His Suspicious Absence from his Camp at Montreal

Andrey Rublev claimed the 250th hard-court win of his career in the opening round in Toronto.

Andrey Rublev Reveals Timeline for Marat Safin After His Suspicious Absence from his Camp at Montreal

Andrey Rublev (image via The Tennis Channel), Marat Safin (image via ATP)

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After an opening round exit at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, Andrey Rublev will be looking to level up his game at the Canadian Open where he is seeded sixth. In Toronto, he defeated Hugo Gaston in straight sets in his opening round, to set up a third round clash with Lorenzo Sonego.

He has a 2-2 head-to-head record with the Italian, with two hard court wins while Sonego has two clay court wins. The winner of this match will meet either Jakub Mensik or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the fourth round.

After his win on Wednesday, which marked the 250th hard-court win of his career, Rublev spoke to The Tennis Channel and was asked about when coach Marat Safin will join him on the North American swing. The 27-year-old replied:

Marat is doing well, hopefully we will have him back on the team at the next US Open… as long as he manages to get the visa on time. If not, we will have to wait for China, on the Asian tour.

Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champion and former World No.1 joined Rublev’s coaching team ahead of the European clay court swing. This marks Safin’s first coaching role, since retiring from the sport in 2009. Rublev had a difficult time between February and May of this year, going 2-7 in seven events and seeing his ranking dip from No. 9 to No. 17.

However, since the week before Roland Garros he has made a lot of improvements, going 13-6 in his last seven events, highlighted by a final at the Hamburg Open and making it to back-to-back fourth rounds at Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

Andrey Rublev chooses between Toronto and Montreal

The Canadian Open traditionally switches every season between Toronto and Montreal. This season, the ATP tournament is taking place in Toronto, while the WTA tournament is being held in Montreal. Andrey Rublev was also asked in the interview for his pick between Toronto and Montreal:

For me yes [he favours Montreal over Toronto]. For me, conditions are completely different. Montreal was opposite. The courts were quite like, not fast, not slow, but playable; let’s say playable, you play a lot of rallies. You need to run, you need to think, and on top of that, it was easier to control the ball…

Andrey Rublev Canadian Open 2024 Montreal
Andrey Rublev (image via Instagram @andreyrublev)

Last year, when the tournament was held in Montreal, Rublev was the runner-up, losing to Alexei Popyrin in the final. Rublev’s run last year in Montreal was quite impressive, as he also defeated World No. 1 Jannik Sinner on his favorite surface en route to the final.

This year Sinner, along with other top-ranked players like Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper, and Novak Djokovic have withdrawn from the tournament due to various reasons. This leaves the draw wide open for perhaps a new Masters 1000 champion this season.

Also Read: Jimmy Connors Gives Verdict on Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Aryna Sabalenka’s Withdrawals from Canadian Open