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Andrey Rublev After his final success against Dominic Thiem, he can look back on a very successful 2020 season. Still, not everything is positive about the year of Russian tennis.
by Michael Rothschädl
Last edit: November 19, 2020, 9:50 PM
Andrey Rublev can end the 2020 season, by far the best of his career so far, with a victory. The Russian was able to defeat a rather moderate Dominic Thiem in straight sets on Thursday afternoon. However, this changed little about his performance at the Nitto ATP Finals, after his losses to Nadal and Tsitsipas it was already clear on Tuesday that the Russian should finish in the group stage.
Andrey Rublev finally has time to reflect on his tennis year. It is time to take stock. And this is definitely positive: The 23-year-old has five titles to reserve in this shortened 2020 season, which is the greatest of all the players on the ATP circuit. Also in terms of individual victories, the world number eight could end the year at the top of this comparison, provided Novak Djokovic is subject to Alexander Zverev on Friday.
Furthermore, the Russian’s attitude fits as well as almost no player of his generation. Rublev repeatedly emphasizes that he still has to work hard on himself in order to improve so many things. And time and again, the 23-year-old is humbled, grateful for all that he has accomplished so far and for all who have supported him. This attitude has now been expressed in accounting things as well, taking the Moscow man the first jump to the top eight in the world rankings.
Negative record against the top 10 players
This avalanche of successes also gave the Russian his first qualifying for the season finale of the eight best players of the year, for the ultimate challenge in tennis, as the Nitto ATP finals are often called. This, however, showed the point that can be classified as negative despite the successes of the Russian: the record against the best players in the world ranking, the record against the representatives of the top 10, especially in the big events.
For Andrey Rublev this is still negative this season with 4: 5, especially in the Grand Slams, the Russian could not be really dangerous for the best players on the ATP charts. In Australia, the 23-year-old failed in three sets to Alexander Zverev, in New York City at the same distance as Daniil Medvedev and at the French Open, Rublev lost a loss in three sets to Tsitsipas.
No chance against Nadal, narrowly against Tsitsipas
This image continued at the Nitto ATP Finals, the Russian had little to oppose Rafael Nadal in his first group match at the O2 Arena. He was able to face the Greek Tsitispas in the second game after a failed first set, but then had to admit defeat. Also because he made a double mistake at match point.
Now he needs more games against players of this level, said the Russian on the brink of the Nitto ATP Finals. He needed more experience right now against the best players in the world. Experience that the Russian will probably be able to acquire in 2021. Then, he will show if he will leave the field again only with the experience acquired, or if later he will be able to defeat the greats of the sport in the most important tournaments.
