Nick Kyrgios makes unlikely offer to help Andrey Rublev solve his anger issues

Kevin Palmer
Andrey Rublev at the US Open
Andrey Rublev at the US Open

Tennis hot-head Nick Kyrgios may not appear to be the ideal candidate to offer emotional support to players who lose their temper on court, but he has offered to help Andrey Rublev after his angry outbursts during the ATP Finals in Turin.

Aussie maverick Kyrgios has been an engaging analyst on the Tennis Channel during the ATP Finals and his offer of support to Rublev brought a smile from his fellow analyst, former world No 1 Andy Roddick.

Russian star Rublev caused concern as the level of his annoyance reached breaking point when he smashed his racket into his leg violently on several occasions during his match against Carlos Alcaraz in Turin.

His outburst was compared to some of the most angry racket smashes served up by Kyrgios during his explosive career, with the 2022 Wimbledon runner-up suggesting Rublev needs to control his emotions to get the best out of himself – and suggested he could be an unlikely ally to help him.

“I think he’s just got to be a bit nicer to himself,” said Kygios.

“I’ve said over and over again that he’s had a great season, won Monte Carlo. You look at all the past champions that won Monte Carlo, it’s an amazing accomplishment.

“So he went 0-3 against some pretty tough opponents (at the ATP Finals) but I don’t think he should go home super disappointed.

“I think he’s made three quarter-finals this year in the Grand Slams so I think moving into Australia he’s got to be in a good mindset moving forward.

“I mean, I’ll come fly to wherever he is and try to help him out mentally. I think I’ve got that down.”

Rublev has been a consistent top ten performer over the last couple of years, but he is struggling to get past the game’s elite players when it matters most, with Kyrgios offering up words of sympathy.

“He’s run into a couple of tough opponents, run into Foe (Frances Tiafoe) at the US Open, it’s a tough feat to pass, but I think in a Grand Slam, I learned that last year, it’s just such a mental grind.

“Physically you actually feel okay, it’s just mentally being in the same spot for over two weeks. It’s brutal.

“I think mentally if you’re going to get so angry and anxious all the time, you just feel drained by the quarter-final stage. So if he can maybe just channel those emotions a bit better, I can’t believe I’m saying that, but if he can channel your emotions a bit better maybe he can get past the quarter-finals.”

READ MORE: Tennis great says Andrey Rublev may need help after violent meltdown against Carlos Alcaraz

Rublev has lost the nine quarter-finals he has contested at Grand Slam events, with the frustration of knocking on the door of the game’s biggest titles and failing to get over the winning line clearly becoming a major issue.

“If you don’t like to lose, doesn’t matter who is the opponent,” Rublev told reporters in Turin.

“You feel disappointed, especially now when you understand that the season is over and that’s it basically.

“You want to do better. You want to show — not to show, but you want at least to try to do better result, to play some great matches at the end of the season. Of course, you feel disappointed when it’s not happening.”

Rublev will be back in action in London in the middle of December, when he takes his place at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Finals at the ExCel Arena.

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