Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev facing alarming rankings collapse
Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev are facing daunting challenges over the course of the clay court season, with a large slice of their current ranking points totals set to fall off their records.
Tsitsipas won last year’s Monte Carlo Masters impressively, with Rublev picking up the title at the Madrid Open.
Both received 1,000 ranking points for those wins in ATP Masters events and they will need to retain their titles to keep those points.
As Tsitsipas and Rublev have displayed indifferent form over recent months, there must be a danger that the duo will slide down the rankings ahead of the French Open.
Tsitsipas has slipped down to No 17 in the Live ATP Rankings, a big drop from his position of No 8 in the current standings.
Rublev is at No 9 in the official ATP Rankings list, but he will slide out of the top 20 after the Madrid Open unless he finds a winning formula over the next few weeks.
Despite the pressure mounting as he looks to defend 1,000 ranking points over the next few days, Tsitsipas is in a confident mood as he returns to Monte Carlo to defend his title, as he gave the media his views.
More Tennis News
Novak Djokovic rankings breakthrough, Carlos Alcaraz back at No 2 – French Open seeding predictions
“It is a good sensation being here and I enjoy the fact I also live here and it was the first tournament I ever watched tennis,” the Greek said.
“The classic Nadal-Federer finals that I got to experience were some of the most spectacular matches I have seen. Being a champion here is something that makes me feel really good and I want to try and add to those moments of legacy and build as much as I can in terms of my career.
“My goal is to maximise during all the clay court tournaments. I had a good start here and in Barcelona, last year but did not quite get to the point that I wanted with the rest of the tournaments. I did play well at times but there were a few things I did wrong but I have learnt from that.
“I just want to get back into it and try and create a more consistent basis of my results when it comes to clay courts and try and maximise my points. The quarter-finals at Roland Garros last year was a good result but not where I have been used to being. I feel my game has good potential to perform even better.”
Meanwhile, Rublev is looking to shake up his season by hiring fellow Russian and former Grand Slam champion Marat Safin as his new coach.
“I known him since I was a kid, and he was my inspiration,” said Rublev of Saffin.
“Then, he has known me for many years as well. When I start to play better tennis, we start to get to know each other more. I find out that he’s a really nice guy and then later on, during I guess his life, he was struggling with his own struggles and he was able to (come) through. And that’s it.”
READ NEXT: Barcelona Open 2025 entry list: Alcaraz, Ruud, Tsitsipas headline strong field
