Andrey Rublev makes surprising Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz confession ahead of Wimbledon
Andrey Rublev would have had every right to feel some frustration as one golden era in men’s tennis was quickly replaced by the next, but the Russian views the rise of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz through a different lens.
Rublev’s path to Grand Slam glory was blocked by the dominance of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for much of his career and he may have hoped his time would come when that trio faded.
As a consistent member of the top ten in men’s tennis for many years, Rublev was one of the players who might have expected to step into the void they left behind at the top of the men’s game.
Yet Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz quickly raised the levels of the game to a new level, as they dominated the Grand Slam story until Alexander Zverev’s French Open win earlier this month.
Speaking exclusively to Tennis365 at The Boodles exhibition event at Stoke Park, Rublev spoke about Sinner and Alcaraz’s rise and offered an interesting view on the impact they have had on him.
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“Of course it’s tough to play them (Sinner and Alcaraz), but it’s also interesting to play against them,” Rublev told Tennis365.
“You can challenge yourself and help you improve faster. That’s the way I see it. Yes they are good, but you have to try and match them.”
Rublev will be striving to get past the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam for the first time in his career at Wimbledon and he admits he does not seem himself as a major contender as he heads back to the All England Club.
His best run at Wimbledon came when he reached the last eight in 2023, but he told us the question of who is the favourite this time should be asked to the leading title contenders.
“This is a question to be answered by the favourites,” he added. “For me, I need to pass the first three or four rounds and that is not easy to do.
“I don’t think about who is playing, who is injured. I just focus on myself and see how far I can get.”
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Rublev is a regular visitor to The Boodles exhibition event at Stoke Park in the week before Wimbledon and he admits the challenge of finding the right balance in his competitive and and practice schedule is crucial to his ambitions.
“It is a great preparation for Wimbledon to play good matches against great players to get ready for Wimbledon,” he added, after two days at The Boodles that saw him play against Alexander Shevchenko and Thanasi Kokkinakis.
“It’s full of players at Wimbledon and there is not much time to spend on the practice courts. Here, you can play a good match, have a nice gym and good food and you can practice. So it is perfect for the first few days when there are so many people trying to use Wimbledon.”
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