By Chris Oddo | Monday March 25, 2019

After climbing all the way up to a career-high ranking of 31 in the world in February of 2018, Andrey Rublev was considered to be a part of a three-headed monster of rising Russian talent, with Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov making up the other two-thirds of this tantalizingly talented trio.

But while Medvedev and Khachanov both powered through break out seasons in 2018 and took their places inside the Top 20, Rublev took a giant step back after suffered a stress fracture in his back and was sidelined for several months.

In the season prior the Russian had won his first ATP title at Umag and then became the youngest ATP quarter-finalist on the men's side since 2001 to cap off a brilliant 2017.

But high expectation for a follow-through in 2018 soon faded as the injury bug bit the Moscow native.

“That time was really tough for me,” Rublev told Seb Lauzier of ATP Tennis Radio. “I was completely depressed, I was down, I remember I didn’t watch any tennis matches because as soon as I watched tennis news or something I was feeling even more depressed. All these guys are playing, are competing, they are on tour and here I am on the sofa doing nothing, so it was a really a tough moment and I am happy that it’s almost one year past.”



Rublev would only miss two months’ time but he wasn’t able to play at his top level consistently in 2018, and his ranking slipped when points came off from his 2017 U.S. Open quarter-final and his title at Umag.

This February Rublev bottomed out at 115 in the world but he has since climbed back into the Top 100 and he could get into the Top 80 with a win over Denis Shapovalov on Monday in Miami.

It’s been a process for the 21-year-old. He lost 11 out of 14 in the second half of 2019 and only now has begun to look like the world-beating player that he once was.

Rublev stunned Marin Cilic in second-round action at Miami for his first Top 20 win in over a year.

“It’s an amazing win for me, especially against a great player like Marin. I’m sure it’s going to give me much more confidence and I hope I will improve and I will play better and better.”

Though he has been frustrated by his injury, Rublev says he didn’t feel left out when his fellow Russians made a charge up the rankings without him. On the contrary—their success inspired him, he says.

“To be honest if you talk about the guys I am happy for them,” he said. “If they are winning it means that I have also enough level to win these matches and tournaments. I am happy for them because my goal is not to do better [than them] or not, my goal is bigger, to win big tournaments.”

Rublev has gone 16-7 on the season if you count qualies and challenger level matches. He has played qualies at Doha, Sydney, Rotterdam and Miami, qualifying successfully for Sydney and Miami, and he also reached the final of the Indian Wells challenger, falling to Kyle Edmund in the final.

If he can stay healthy and continue progressing, he may well be able to surpass his lofty achievements of 2017 and maybe even join his compatriots inside the Top 20.

“I think now I completely forgot about my injury,” Rublev says. “Last couple of months I’m already playing full practice, full intensity, so hopefully everything is recovered inside of my body.”