Andrey Rublev receives major boost ahead of US Open

Russia’s Andrey Rublev has received a significant boost ahead of his next assignment. The 27-year-old is currently taking part in the Cincinnati Open, where he cemented his spot in the quarterfinal after beating Argentina’s Francisco Comesana in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-3.

His next opponent will be world number two, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who secured his spot in the last eight of the ongoing ATP 1000 event in Cincinnati after beating Italy’s Luca Nardi in straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. Ahead of a crucial encounter, Rublev had received a significant boost as his coach, former world number one Marat Safin, has received his US visa.

The development was confirmed by Safin’s sister Safina, who was also a former world number one, while speaking in a Russian-language podcast with Anna Chakvetadze. “Will Marat Safin surprise us with a visit? Did he receive a visa?” asked Chakvetadze. “[Yes], he’s going to pick [up his passport] on the 13th,” was the response of Safina.

Safin will not be able to reach in time to Cincinnati, where Rublev will be taking on Alcaraz. However, he is set to be there with the Rublev at the start of the US Open. Rublev, earlier this week, spoke about his relationship with Safin and explained how the two-time Grand Slam winner has helped him improve his game recently.

Monumental task

“Well, for sure I did huge improvements, but in the end it's daily work, daily routine, daily challenge,” said Rublev. “[You need] to be aware [of yourself], and it's very challenging because it's easy to do everything automatic. Everything is great. I like a lot his advices — just in general, the things that he sees, the way he sees those things, and that's it. Hopefully he’s coming to US Open and we will have more memories.”

Overall, Rublev is going through a mixed campaign. In 2025, he won 26 out of 44 matches. On Thursday, Rublev will be featuring in the quarterfinal of an ATP event for the seventh time this year. In the previous six appearances in the last-eight round earlier this year, Rublev won three and suffered three defeats. His most recent appearance was in the quarterfinal of the Canadian Open, where he came second-best against America’s Taylor Fritz in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6.

In comparison, his Thursday opponent, Alcaraz’s record while playing in the quarterfinals this year has been phenomenal. He has featured in the last eight matches on 10 occasions and lost just two times. One of them came in the Australian Open against Serbia’s Nova Djokovic, whereas the other defeat came at the Qatar Open against the Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka.

Rublev’s record against Alcaraz is not a great one, either. In the four previous meetings, Rublev managed to win on just one occasion. That triumph came in the quarterfinal of the Madrid Open in 2024, where Rublev emerged victorious with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2. Their most recent meeting came in the fourth round of Wimbledon earlier this year, where Alcaraz emerged victorious with a score of 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. Talking about what he has learnt after losing against Alcaraz at Wimbledon, Rublev recently stated that there is a need for him to keep on improving.

“[I learned] that I must keep working, that I’m on the right path and this is the level that I need to aim for to be able to compete,” said Rublev about his Wimbledon defeat. “At that level, one or two points and you get broken. Against players like that, you have to play at that level for four and a half hours without losing focus even slightly. That’s what I’m aiming for.”