Andrey Rublev Partners with Marat Safin to Improve Emotional Control

Andrey Rublev partners with two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin to improve his emotional control and on-court behavior.

Andrey Rublev has added two-time Grand Slam champion Marat Safin to his coaching team ahead of the European clay-court swing. The 27-year-old Russian said he is aware that Safin will only stick around if he enjoys the job. Rublev has struggled with emotional outbursts during matches, but conversations with his idol Safin have helped him, as evident from his Doha title run in February.

Tuesday practice

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“I hope for really long, but it depends if he will enjoy to work with me or he will suffer,” Rublev said. “Because if he would feel that I'm not doing the things or I'm not listening, I don't think he will waste his time. For the moment I'm just trying to listen and to try new things. We'll see how it will work, or what it will bring, or what's going to happen.” Rublev is hoping for a long and successful partnership with Safin, who was formally hired ahead of this week's Monte Carlo Masters.

Marat Safin, a two-time Grand Slam champion, was no stranger to outbursts on the court, having broken dozens of rackets during his career. Andrey Rublev, who has struggled with similar emotional outbursts, hopes that Safin's experience in dealing with his own problems will be useful in their coaching partnership.

“He had his own struggles that he went through and I was always afraid to ask (about) those things, but inside I always wanted to,” Rublev said. “In the end, when I found out that he was also ready and he was looking maybe to work in tennis, it was like, 'Okay, I have to at least try... I have to ask'.” Rublev's new partnership with Safin will be put to the test as he takes on French veteran Gael Monfils in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.