Mouratoglou: "Rublev needs that madness to play the best possible"

The tennis world is focused this week on the ATP Finals 2024, a tournament that stirs many emotions as the best players of the year compete against each other. Andrey Rublev is one of those in Turin hoping to qualify for the semifinals, but after two defeats, the Russian is facing a tough challenge once again. If he fails to defeat Casper Ruud in the last group stage match, Rublev would repeat the same result as last year without any victories. How is he handling it after losing to Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz?

Well, the truth is that the Russian is not doing too bad considering he has competed against two of the best players in the tournament. Moreover, Rublev is well known for his outbursts and frustrations on the court, not only breaking rackets but also hitting himself with them on the knees. Exactly a year ago, the Russian had such an episode against the player from Murcia in this same tournament, leaving quite an impact with images showing a gash on his knee due to a clean racket hit. However, this year, good old Andrey has refrained from repeating that, managing to control his anger.

Patrick Mouratoglou and his perspective on the Russian's outbursts

Nevertheless, this year has been mentally challenging for the world number 8. After his disqualification at the Dubai tournament in March for shouting directly at the line judge, Rublev hit rock bottom. The title in Madrid also couldn't mask all those early-round defeats he experienced until around August. The Russian seems unable to contain his frustration, leaving incidents like this at Wimbledon and more recently at Paris-Bercy. How much does this attitude affect or help his tennis? Well, Patrick Mouratoglou believes Andrey transforms on the court, as off-court he is one of the nicest players on the circuit. Simply put, Rublev lets his rage take over when things don't go his way, and that is likely a result of mental aspects he still needs to work on off the court.

"I think he has had some tough moments this year, struggled to control himself, and I believe he is hurting himself. He had a moment like that at the UTS Final in London last year. I saw him after the match, and he felt very bad about himself, apologized 200 times, was very embarrassed, but when he is in the heat of the moment, he is simply not himself, it's the heat of the battle he is dealing with," said Naomi Osaka's coach for Tennis365. And indeed, according to Mouratoglou, for Rublev, controlling his outbursts is very challenging for a simple reason: he is a very passionate player, something inherent in his tennis. Thus, his attempts to find that middle ground sometimes cost him a few racket hits. "I think he needs that madness to play at his best, and if he tries to control it because he's afraid of going too far, then he struggles to find his tennis, so it's a thin and difficult line to measure for him," the Frenchman concluded about a player who is probably looking forward to facing 2025 with more calmness.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Mouratoglou: "Rublev necesita esa locura para jugar lo mejor posible"