"More positive and professional" - Rublev on reaching next level

Andrey Rublev has outlined the changes he needs to make to his game to reach the “next level”, including improving mentally and being “more professional and positive”.

World No. 8 Rublev has not yet made his breakthrough at a Grand Slam, only reaching the quarter-finals four times out of 18 main-draw appearances. At the French Open he has only won four matches and at Wimbledon only five. At this year’s Australian Open he was beaten in the third round by Marin Cilic. Speaking to Tennis Majors, Rublev explained what needs to change:

"The mental aspect of the game. I cannot allow myself to waste time and energy on the nonsense I sometimes do, it is better to focus on the game itself and to fight for every ball. Game-wise, there are details I need to work on. I need to develop a better feel so that I can return more balls in the court, slicing for instance. Some players do not play aggressively, but they give you balls that are pretty difficult to attack – sometimes, I lack those kinds of shots in my game."

He continued:

“Furthermore, I need to have more confidence coming forward. There are a lot of rallies where I get a shorter ball and I do not come to the net because I am uncertain. Or I do come, but you can see I do not feel that comfortable. I need to break that barrier in my head because I feel I can get more points that way. Also, I need for my second serve to be faster. It would be a huge advantage, since it would be harder to break me. In part, that is mental as well, because in practice I hit second serves harder and I rarely make double faults. But in the match, when I feel pressure, sometimes I am afraid to go for it, particularly when it is 30–30 or break point or advantage. Then I just push the ball in order to start the point. I need to say to myself ‘just do it’"