Andrey Rublev began his ATP Finals campaign with a straight-sets defeat to German Alexander Zverev.
Rublev has endured a tough season on the ATP Tour, struggling for form for large parts of the season despite a number of marquee performances.
The Russian began his season strongly with a title at the Hong Kong Open, before Rublev won the Madrid Open, to take home his second Masters 1000 trophy.
It was at the four Grand Slam tournaments where the 27-year-old struggled once again however, as Rublev reached the quarter-finals of a Major just once in 2024.
Struggling for form, it had looked as if he would fail to qualify for the ATP Finals for the first time since 2019 until Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the finals confirmed his place in Turin.
In Turin, Rublev began with a tough outing against second seed Zverev, who he was comfortably beaten by 6-4, 6-4.
Rublev’s fellow Russian tennis stars have been asking him to make some serious changes if he is to improve and advance to the semi-finals.
Dinara Safina reveals Marat Safin has asked Andrey Rublev to make changes to win at ATP Finals
Speaking following Rublev’s opening group stage defeat to Zverev, Dinara Safina revealed that her brother Marat Safin has been desperately trying to convince Rublev to add more variety to his game.
Safina and Safin are both former world number ones and are close to Rublev and his camp.
“Very often Marat [Safin] and I discuss this about Andrey [Rublev], and you could say it’s a sore subject,” she said.
“He says he [Rublev] doesn’t want to listen to me, I tell him to try something [new], but he’s afraid to change.”
Safina went on to explain why Rublev’s lack of variety costs him so much in tournaments such as the ATP Finals.
“Many players are already reading Andrey’s game and here Andrey needs to be at the limit all the time in order to beat these players,” she said.
“Marat offers him variety, he says Andrey you can’t do this all the time.
“He seems to be afraid of it, but you have to add this, to take this step, because otherwise, your game is already readable.
“Don’t be afraid to add new things.”
Can Andrey Rublev turn it around at the ATP Finals against Carlos Alcaraz?
Rublev can still advance to the semi-finals in Turin, but will need to get off and running with a win against Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday.
The Spaniard also lost his opening match in Turin, as Alcaraz was beaten by Casper Ruud, suffering with illness throughout.
Alcaraz ended Tuesday’s practice session prematurely, still struggling with his health, and rumors had circulated as to whether alternate Grigor Dimitrov could take his place.
Those rumors were seemingly put to bed when Dimitrov’s coach revealed that he thinks Alcaraz will play against Rublev.
With the matchup seemingly set in stone, how well has Rublev fared against the Spaniard in the past?
The pair first met in Turin last year, where Alcaraz won in straight sets against the Russian at the ATP Finals.
Rublev then got his revenge on Alcaraz in Madrid earlier this year, on his way to winning his second Masters 1000, as he battled back from a set down to win their quarter-final match-up.
With the head-to-head tied at one a piece, it remains to be seen who will take the lead as they take to the court in Turin, knowing that a win is necessary to keep their semi-final hopes alive.
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