Marat Safin: How former No 1 can make Andrey Rublev part of the tennis elite

Oli Dickson Jefford 08 Apr 2025 4:17 PM

Andrey Rublev and Marat Safin.

Andrey Rublev’s clay-court season gets underway at the Monte Carlo Masters this week – and all eyes are on a new face in his player box.

Former world No 1 Marat Safin has officially linked up with his fellow Russian for the next few months, joining Rublev’s pre-existing coach Fernando Vicente.

An idol of his growing up, Rublev jumped at the chance to work with Safin.

“Marat is someone that was inspiring me since I was a kid,” said Rublev, in quotes reported by the ATP.

“Then obviously he knows me since I was a kid and I know him since I was a kid, and later on I started to get to know him more.”

Ahead of his opening Monte Carlo match against Gael Monfils, we look at what Safin can offer his new charge.

Grand Slam experience

There is little that Rublev has been unable to achieve in what has undoubtedly been an impressive career.

The 27-year-old has cracked the top five of the ATP Rankings and is the winner of 17 ATP Tour titles, including Masters 1000 titles in Monte Carlo (2023) and Madrid (2024).

However, there is one obvious – and well-discussed – issue that has plagued Rublev: his Grand Slam quarter-final record.

He has reached four US Open quarter-finals, three Australian Open quarter-finals, two French Open quarter-finals, and a Wimbledon quarter-final – but has a 0-10 record in those matches.

And, with Rublev having now not reached the last eight of a Slam since the 2024 Australian Open, his Slam form certainly requires improvement.

Ironically, Safin reached nine Grand Slam quarter-finals – one less than Rublev – but maximised his opportunities when he went deep at majors.

He was the 2000 US Open champion and later the 2005 Australian Open champion, having previously reached finals Down Under in 2002 and 2004.

Having also been a semi-finalist at both the French Open and Wimbledon, Safin can offer his new charge clear insight into breaking an obvious mental hurdle on tennis’ biggest stages.

Emotional control

Safin was one of the greatest talents of his generation – but also one of the most temperamental players to ever pick up a racket.

The two-time major champion was known for his frequent, and at times bizarre, on-court outbursts, and once estimated he had smashed 700 rackets across his career.

Yet, he was able to defy that to win two majors and 15 career ATP Tour titles, and spend nine weeks as world No 1.

That should be of huge encouragement to Rublev, whose emotions have often got the better of him in big matches.

The 27-year-old has spoken about working on his emotional control, and last year revealed he was working with Safin to improve his mental composure on court.

With his compatriot now joining his team permanently, this is a key area the two can work on.

“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],” said Rublev.

“And 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]’. Maybe it’s not me, but at least I have to ask.”

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Insight into rivals

Perhaps most intriguingly, Safin could offer Rublev some further insight into the players he could have to beat to one day win a Grand Slam title.

Most notably, Rublev could well have to deal with the challenge of Novak Djokovic – a man Safin also faced during his career.

Safin beat the Serbian in the latter’s first-ever Grand Slam match at the 2005 Australian Open and is one of a select group to have a winning head-to-head over Djokovic, also beating him at Wimbledon in 2008.

The Djokovic of 2025 is different to the Djokovic of 2008 and Rublev has played – and beaten – the Serbian before, though Safin could offer an alternate perspective.

Safin could also offer an insight into several players that are also now coached by players of his generation – most notably, Carlos Alcaraz.

Alcaraz’s long-time coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, is also a former world No 1 and Grand Slam champion, and held a 6-6 head-to-head record against Safin.

Safin could offer insight into how Ferrero’s mind works, and what the Spaniard could be working on with Alcaraz – a four-time major winner.