Andrey Rublev builds his perfect player, attributes the skills of Big-3 along with his childhood hero Marit Safin and others

Andrey Rublev is one of the players possessing the most powerful forehands on tour. He is currently ranked number 7 in the world. He became a Masters Champion earlier this year with his triumph in Monte Carlo. Just a few weeks ago, he also won the tournament in Bastad, Sweden, taking his career titles tally to 14.

On YouTube, Rublev built his perfect player from current and retired players for the ATP. Rublev specifically selected skills from the Big Three – Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Roger Federer. All three were chosen multiple times.

Rublev selected Djokovic’s flexibility, backhand, and return. Djokovic’s versatility and ability to do everything with his backhand always finds a way to break his opponent. Rublev had to learn this the painful way just a few weeks ago in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. The Russian had surprisingly taken the first set 6-4 against Nole with strong play.

But then the record Grand Slam champion kicked into gear and left Rublev with no chances. The Russian was sent home packing with a score of 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, and 6-3. It was a bitter defeat for Rublev, as he once again fell short of reaching a Grand Slam semifinal. He has managed to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam 8 times so far but has always left the court as a defeated player.

His head-to-head record against Djokovic is also negative at 1-4. However, he has managed to defeat the Serb once before. It was the final in Djokovic’s home country of Serbia where Rublev dropped a bagel in the third set to clinch the title.

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Andrey Rublev chooses Roger Federer for his net game and touch

Against Roger Federer, on the other hand, Rublev has played only once and won that match at the 2019 Cincinnati Round of 16. A remarkable feat, considering that Federer is one of the greatest players of all time and has triumphed in Cincinnati a total of 7 times.

Rafael Nadal, an idol for Rublev since childhood, has the best forehand and is additionally selected for mental toughness and competitiveness, as, in Rublev’s opinion, he is the best mentally. Rublev has felt the power of Nadal’s forehand on three occasions, managing to secure victory in one of those encounters. He faced two defeats in the first two matchups, each in straight sets, at the 2017 US Open on hardcourt and the 2019 ATP Finals.

However, in their most recent clash, Rublev emerged victorious on Nadal’s favored surface, clay, at the 2021 Monaco Masters, with a three-set win. This achievement is truly remarkable, given that Nadal is considered the greatest clay court player of all time, and only a handful of players have a better head-to-head record on clay than him.

In the category of speed, Rublev selected Carlos Alcaraz and Alejandro Davidovic Fokina. For the slice category, he chose Dan Evans and Matteo Berrettini. The best serve consisted of a combination of John Isner, Nick Kyrgios, and Reilly Opelka. Lastly, he chooses another childhood idol, Marat Safin, for the best celebration.

By: Janik Wilhelm

In case you missed it:

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