The fourth match in a row without victories: what broke in the game of Andrei Rublev

Let's look at what exactly happened on the court. The match lasted an hour and a half, and during that time Tommy Paul showed enviable composure. The American did not reinvent the wheel: four aces and four broken points out of 11 possible. Paul took his own when it was really important. Rublev in this component looked much less convincing. Having earned two chances at the reception, Andrey was able to embody only one break, while also filing three through. At this level, the cost of error increases many times over, and Paul took advantage of it. At the same time, both tennis players made only one double mistake, which indicates the high quality of serving on both sides.

The most disturbing thing in this story is not even the defeat itself, but its systematic nature. This lost match was for Rublev for the fourth in a row. Recall the geography of his recent setbacks: second round in Almaty, early departure at the Masters in Shanghai, defeat in the quarterfinals of Beijing, and now the first lap in Vienna. The tennis player is 29 years old, the age that is considered the most juice for his career, but the current season is difficult for him. The balance of 33 wins and 22 defeats is a clear regression for a player who is used to being in the thick of top events.

At the same time, Andrew’s track record inspires respect. Eighteen titles under the auspices of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Olympic gold Tokyo 2020 in the mix with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, victory in the Davis Cup and the ATP Cup as part of the Russian team. But on an individual level in Grand Slam tournaments, he is stably stalling, not going beyond the quarter-finals.

Should Rublev be blamed for everything? Not exactly. Tommy Paul is also 29 years old, he is the 14th racket of the world, has five credits behind him and the semi-finals of the Australian Open in 2023 in the asset. He is a strong, tough player who is in great shape and deserves this victory.

Meanwhile, another intrigue is unfolding in Vienna. Current champion Yannick Sinner misses the tournament due to problems with his right knee, which opens up additional opportunities for the rest. Of the Russians in the grid remained Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov. Medvedev – the only one of our tennis players to win the Vienna trophy in 2022 – starts against Spaniard Daniel Merida-Aguilar. Daniel should be fine here.

But Karen Khachanov was frankly unlucky with the draw. His rival in the first round was the third number of the rating of the planet Carlos Alcaras. Let’s face it: Karen’s chances against the Spanish prodigy are now catastrophically small. Alkaras plays tennis from another opera, and Khachanov will need to perform a miracle to extend his stay in Austria.

What do you think about the protracted crisis of Andrei Rublev? Is it a temporary decline in form, psychological fatigue, or hidden health problems?