"I think Marat could be the fifth member of Mötley Crüe" - Andrey Rublev touches on when he and Marat Safin met Jon Bon Jovi

Andrey Rublev kicked off his Rome Open campaign in fine voice, defeating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-4, 6-4 as he looks to complete the list of Masters 1000 semi-finals.

Rublev needed just one break to seal the first set before three consecutive breaks at the start of the second set went the way of the Russian. He then saw it out with ease for a very commendable win. He hit 23 forehand winners while dropping just three points on his first serve in a very solid showing.

The two-time Masters 1000 champion was satisfied with his overall performance but felt there was more in the tank. "For my first match, yeah, I was pretty happy with everything overall," he told the Tennis Channel. "Even if I take all my appearances here, I think today I played my highest level in a first-round match out of all the times I’ve played here — even when I was seeded higher, ranked better, or having better results. So yeah, I liked it."

When in his pomp, Rublev consistently reached the latter stages in many of the big tournaments. At Masters 1000 level, he has reached the semi-final stage in all of the events on offer. Well, all but one - the Rome Open. Just one quarterfinal back in 2021 surrounded by early exits at Foro Italia.

He kept his cards close to his chest when asked whether he felt like a semi-final this week was possible. "Maybe, maybe not — we’ll see. I still have some years left, a good amount of years, to see if it happens. Of course it would be amazing. If not, then what to do? You know, what to do?"

Even Rublev cannot answer that question. He has won 11 hardcourt titles, six of them outdoors and five indoors. He has also triumphed on clay six times from 11 finals, which included his Masters 1000 titles in Monte-Carlo and Madrid, while reaching a brace of grass finals, losing both at the Halle Open.

He was not totally sure on his best surface, with his versatility on a range of courts a key asset in his arsenal. "Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve asked myself the same question," he said. "There were periods in my career when I was getting really good results on clay and feeling confident there. Then I’d switch back to hard courts and maybe the results weren’t as good, so I’d think, 'Okay, next year clay season is coming, I’m going to do amazing.'

"Then suddenly I wouldn’t do much on clay, but I’d do really well on grass — when I expected the least. So maybe the less I expect, the better I play."

Whatever surface or tournament he is playing on, Rublev has the notorious Marat Safin in his camp. The former world number one joined as his coach back in April last year and is looking to work his magic with Rublev who is still trying to return to his best form.

He did not have a bad thing to say about the two-time Grand Slam champion. "With Marat, it can never be bad. Believe me."

He relieved the story where the pair met rockstar Jon Bon Jovi in Miami. He was quizzed on who was the bigger rock-style lifestyle between him and Bon Jovi. "I don’t really know Bon Jovi well. We only talked for like three minutes, just basic conversation. Obviously he’s a rock star, but I don’t know his private life or what he’s done. But Marat… you know Mötley Crüe? I think Marat could be the fifth member of Mötley Crüe. He would fit there very well."

At the end of last year, Rublev won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for the work done through the Andrey Rublev Foundation helping critically ill children. It is something close to his heart, putting in a lot of effort in his charity work which has seen him get a lot of credit from tennis fans all around the world.

The work is continuing in the Italian capital. While Rublev competes on court, the foundation is working closely with the Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital.

"We’re working with Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital. Basically, they show us cases of children who are in very difficult situations and explain how much financial support is missing. Sometimes it’s a very large amount of money, and every case is different.

"Honestly, the big thanks should go to Lisa Hernandez, who takes care of all this. She has to make difficult decisions sometimes because, of course, you want to help everyone. The hospital gives us options, and then we see who we’re able to help, depending on how much money we’ve raised. My foundation isn’t huge and we’re not raising crazy amounts of money, but at least we’re doing something."