Russian world number ten Andrey Rublev was searching for his first ATP win of 2025 in Montpellier.
The 27-year-old hadn’t had the best start to the year, losing his first two ATP Tour matches in Hong Kong, and in Melbourne.
Rublev was the defending champion in Hong Kong, but lost in the first round to Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in three sets, 5-6, 6-3, 3-6.
He then suffered a shock defeat at the Australian Open, as Rublev lost to qualifier Joao Fonseca in straight sets.
Looking to get back to winning ways, Rublev entered the Open Occitanie ATP 250 tournament in Montpellier, France.
He had beaten his opponent once before, at the 2024 Australian Open, and was dearly hoping to replicate that performance this time around.
Andrey Rublev is ‘happy’ to break five-match losing streak with win over Chris Eubanks in Montpellier
Rublev scored his first win of 2025 against American star Chris Eubanks in Montpellier, winning 6-4, 6-3.
After the match the Russian explained how relieved he was to get the win against a tough opponent.
“I’m happy I was able to win,” he said.
“Chris [Eubanks] is such a tough player, especially indoors, he likes to serve, he likes to go to the net, he likes to hit hard, in these conditions it’s really tough to play against him,” he said.
“I knew since the beginning that I need to be super focused in the first few shots, the return, after the serve, I need to be super focused because sometimes he hits unbelievable winners with a return.
“I was able to do it really well today.”
The result was Rublev’s first win in six matches, snapping a losing streak that stretched back to last November.
- 2025 Montpellier R16 – Beat Chris Eubanks
- 2025 Australian Open 1R – Lost to Joao Fonseca
- 2025 Hong Kong R16 – Lost to Fabian Marozsan
- 2024 ATP Finals RR – Lost to Casper Ruud
- 2024 ATP Finals RR – Lost to Carlos Alcaraz
- 2024 ATP Finals RR – Lost to Alexander Zverev
The Russian lost all three of his matches at last year’s ATP Finals, as he had done so one year earlier in 2023.
His win over Eubanks was his first in 85 days, when he took down Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the first round of the Moselle Open in Metz, France.
His record since the beginning of the 2024 ATP Finals doesn’t look too great when compared to his fellow top-ten stars.
| ATP Rank | Name | Wins | Losses | Win/Loss record | Win rate |
| 1 | Jannik Sinner | 15 | 0 | 15-0 | 100% |
| 2 | Alexander Zverev | 11 | 2 | 11-2 | 85% |
| 3 | Carlos Alcaraz | 6 | 3 | 6-3 | 67% |
| 4 | Taylor Fritz | 10 | 4 | 10-4 | 71% |
| 5 | Casper Ruud | 5 | 3 | 5-3 | 63% |
| 6 | Novak Djokovic | 7 | 2 | 7-2 | 78% |
| 7 | Daniil Medvedev | 2 | 3 | 2-3 | 40% |
| 8 | Alex de Minaur | 6 | 6 | 6-6 | 50% |
| 9 | Tommy Paul | 6 | 2 | 6-2 | 75% |
| 10 | Andrey Rublev | 1 | 5 | 1-5 | 20% |
Only the Russian duo of Rublev and Daniil Medvedev have won less than 50% of their matches since the beginning of the year-end finals.
Rublev will hope to kick on after securing his first win of the year, as he looks ahead to his quarter-final match in Montpellier.
The world number ten will face off against the winner of Nikoloz Basilashvili and Arthur Rinderknech in the last eight.
Andrey Rublev looks back on ‘dream come true’ moment in Montpellier seven years ago
During his post-match interview, Rublev was asked how it felt to be back in Montpellier, seven years after his first appearance at the event.
“I don’t know to be honest, it’s nice experience to comeback somewhere where I’ve been many years ago, have flashbacks,” he said.
“The match against [Jo-Wilfried] Tsonga, which I lost in the quarter-final, it was a big moment for me because I was a teenager, and Tsonga was one of the best players.
“For me it was a dream come true, so it was a nice moment.
“Now I’m here again so lets see what is going to happen.”
Tsonga beat Rublev 6-4, 7-6, as he advanced to the semis in Montpellier, where he retired against fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille having won the first set.
Pouille went on to lift the trophy, his most recent triumph to date.
In the 14 editions of the tournament since it moved to Montpellier in 2010, a Frenchman has won on eight occasions.
A losing finalist in 2018, Richard Gasquet won his first round match at this year’s tournament, as he became the second player in ATP Tour history to win a tour-level match in 24 consecutive seasons.
It may be a step too far to suggest the 38-year-old French star could go on and win his home tournament, but it would be wise not to bet against him.
Gasquet will take on Tallon Griekspoor on Thursday, January 30, while Rublev awaits the winner of Basilashvili and Rinderknech on Friday, January 31.
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