The Russian, who has been one of the better players on the ATP Tour over the past decade, was only 19 when he reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at the 2017 US Open.
Since then, Rublev has reached the last eight stages of a Grand Slam eight more times. Yet the world number 16 still does not have a major semi-final on his resume. He is a four-time US Open quarter-finalist, three-time Australian Open quarter-finalist, two-time French Open quarter-finalist and has also played the last eight at Wimbledon once.
When it comes to the tennis part, everyone knows pretty well what Rublev is capable of. But the feeling is that the 17-time ATP champion is dealing with some sort of mental block as he reaches the latter stages of the Slams.
Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, hopes the 16th-ranked Russian can return to the top 10 in 2026 and also end his negative Slam record.
Roddick: I really want Rublev to reach a Grand Slam semi-final
“I see no reason why he can’t get back into the top ten. He’s capable of putting in strong results. But he’s never reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, and you’d want that to be the most important achievement when you summarize his career,” Roddick said on his podcast.
“I really want Andrey to finally make that breakthrough and reach a Grand Slam semi-final. Is he emotionally imperfect? Of course. But who is perfect? We all are like that. Yet he can literally blow opponents off the court with his forehand and backhand. Do we want to see a little Safin-esque madness in him? Absolutely.”
Rublev’s last Grand Slam quarterfinal appearance came at the 2024 Australian Open, when he was defeated in straight sets by eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
#Andy #Roddick #big #Andrei #Rublev