Andrey Rublev eyes long coaching partnership with idol Marat Safin

MONTE CARLO – World No. 9 Andrey Rublev has added two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin to his coaching team ahead of the European clay-court swing, but the Russian said he is well aware that his compatriot will stick around only if he enjoys the job.

Rublev has struggled to keep his emotions in check at times during matches and his outbursts have overshadowed his game, but the 27-year-old said after a run to the Doha title in February that conversations with his idol Safin had helped him.

Having formally hired the former world No. 1 ahead of this week’s Monte Carlo Masters, he is hoping for a long and successful partnership with the former Australian Open and US Open champion.

“I hope for really long, but it depends if he will enjoy to work with me or he will suffer,” Rublev said.

“Because if he would feel that I’m not doing the things or I’m not listening, I don’t think he will waste his time. For the moment, I’m just trying to listen and to try new things. We’ll see how it will work or what’s going to happen.”

Safin was no stranger to outbursts, having broken dozens of rackets on court during his career and Rublev hoped the 45-year-old’s experience in dealing with his problems would be useful.

“He had his own struggles that he went through and I was always afraid to ask (about) those things, but inside I always wanted to,” Rublev added. “In the end, when I found out that he was also ready and he was looking maybe to work in tennis, it was like, ‘Okay, I have to at least try... I have to ask’.”

Rublev takes on French veteran Gael Monfils in the Monte Carlo second round on April 9.

On April 7, Rublev’s compatriots were in action as Daniil Medvedev navigated his way into the second round, eventually seeing off former world No. 8 Karen Khachanov 7-5, 4-6, 6-4.

Former US Open winner Medvedev fought through in just shy of three hours on Court Rainier III against Khachanov, after having been a set and a break up.

After an early exit from the Miami Open in March caused the 29-year-old to exit the top 10, Medvedev got back to winning ways on clay as he chases his first title since claiming the Rome Open in 2023.

“It’s the first match on clay – it’s not my favourite surface,” he said. “I don’t think Karen hit one ace and he’s a big server. So, it was pretty slow, but I’m happy with my level in general and looking forward.”

Elsewhere, 11th seed Ben Shelton was stunned by 42nd-ranked Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and there will be no showdown between Novak Djokovic and Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss was defeated by Alejandro Tabilo.

Shelton went down 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-1 to his Spanish opponent, who reached this event’s final in 2022.

Wildcard Wawrinka also played out an epic that lasted nearly 2½ hours before succumbing 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 to Tabilo.

On April 8, 10th-seeded Dane Holger Rune was forced to retire after losing the first set 6-2 and trailing 3-0 in the second during his first-round encounter against Nuno Borges of Portugal.

Bulgarian 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov came through 6-3, 6-4 in a tricky opening tie against Chile’s Nicolas Jarry. Dimitrov, 33, now boasts a 24-11 record in Monte Carlo, with the second-most victories among active players on tour, behind Djokovic (39-15).

The biggest shock of the day arrived when top seed Alexander Zverev was sent packing by Matteo Berrettini of Italy. The German lost 2-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the second-round match which lasted almost 2½ hours. REUTERS, AFP