Andrey Rublev ready for 'great challenge' at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after playing down title chances

Russian world No 8 is one of the form players on the ATP Tour, but he insists conditions this week do not work in his favour

Andrey Rublev, who won the Rotterdam Open earlier this month, is seeded second at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. Reuters

Andrey Rublev enters his third appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships as one of the hottest players on the ATP Tour.

The Russian has played four tournaments so far this season, winning two titles, reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, and making the semi-finals of the other. But Rublev's fine start to 2021 isn't at all surprising. This, after all, is a player who won five titles during a 2020 season severely disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic and tennis' subsequent five-month shutdown.

Seeded second in Dubai and developing a habit as an ATP 500 specialist – all four of his most recent eight career titles have come in the series, including in Rotterdam just over a week ago – one would expect Rublev to fancy his chances this week.

"I’m happy to be back but it’s always tough conditions for me in Dubai," the world No 8 said. "The balls fly much more, and with my style of game, it’s not so easy to play. I will see what happens and it will be a great challenge for me to see if I can find other ways to win matches. I have nothing to lose and I will try to do my best.”

Perhaps not, then. Rublev has been to Dubai twice before – last year when he reached the quarter-finals and in 2017 when, age 19, he fell in the first round of qualifying. So it hasn't exactly been a happy hunting ground so far.

That being said, the sample size is small and despite Rublev's reservations about the conditions pertaining to his playing style, there will be few surprises if the 23-year-old Russian is lifting the trophy come Saturday.

A big contributing factor to those high expectations, albeit not from himself, is Rublev's impressive adaptation to tennis' current climate. When the ATP Tour returned last August it was in decidedly challenging circumstances. Strict travel rules and restrictions, quarantine periods, regular testing, and predominantly playing in empty stadiums have all become the norm. Some players have adapted well to it, others not so much. Rublev firmly belongs in the former category and believes his success during these tough times can be attributed to adopting a realistic approach combined with old fashioned graft.

"I focus more on myself, to accept the things I cannot change and do the best I can on the things I can change," said Rublev, who started his season by helping Russia win the ATP Cup. "I’m far from perfect but this is the direction I’m moving in and this is what I’m trying to keep in my mind. In the end, this is what helps me to improve my mentality and that is how I have seen improvements.

"On top of that I’m still working hard to do my best in practice. I try to work on the things I need to improve that will help bring better results and I can already see some of the things that are better this season compared to last season. I want to keep going like this, I want to achieve my limits, and we will see what happens.”

Rublev's rise over the past year may appear to have been sharp but in reality, the Russian has had to contend with numerous setbacks during his short career so far. Having established himself on the ATP Tour in 2015, Rublev enjoyed his initial breakthrough in 2017 when he won his first title, in Umag, and reached the US Open quarter-finals. Injuries and unspecified personal problems saw Rublev tumble out of the world's top 100 by February 2019, but he has since got his career back on track, and then some.

"It wasn’t just about the last half year, it’s been a long journey," Rublev said. "I've always worked hard and I don’t need someone to tell me to work or to motivate me, I’ve always had that, I’ve always done everything 100 per cent.

"I had some injures that were tough and some problems outside the court that caused stress that were not giving me the freedom to play on court. Then from 2019, little by little, everything was getting better. All these little things were like a puzzle that came together and from last year I’ve been playing better and better and hopefully I can continue this way.”

The immediate next step for Rublev, who received a bye to the second round in Dubai, comes against Emil Ruusuvuori after the Finnish qualifier defeated Jordan Thompson 6-3 7-6 in the first round.

It was one of eight first-round matches on Monday, while one second-round match also took place, with France's Jeremy Chardy causing a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 upset of Australian ninth seed Alex De Minaur.