“Russians are not like other Europeans, sometimes they are too unhappy”

Andrey Rublev beats himself savagely on the knee, Danil Medvedev goes crazy with rage, Misha Yuzhny smashes his head with a racket, Marat Safin takes off his shorts in the middle of the court… If tennis players from any country can be said to be different from others, then they are the Russians.

That’s what Fernando Vicente, the long-time coach of Rubljevo, says.

– Russians and other Europeans have different brains – said the Spaniard in an interview with the Russian portal “Championat”.

– After all, I know Andrej very well, I also know Khachanov, Medvedev. Russians are very honest and natural. They don’t pretend. It’s easy for me to work with them. The only thing I don’t like, and what I talked about with Marat, is that Russians are sometimes too unhappy – adds the Spaniard.

His poulet is probably the best example of that. As soon as things go differently than expected, he completely loses control of himself.

– He is very self-critical. Such is the Russian mentality, they are rarely satisfied with themselves and are often sad. I asked Safin to explain all that to him – said Vicente.

Rubljov achieved everything important in his career with him.

– We have been working for nine years. It’s a lot, but I’m always open to any discussion. I told him many times that if he wants another coach, no problem. If you want to pay Ivan Lendl, Andy Mari, Karlos Moja, don’t waste your time – once said the 29th tennis player in the world.

Rubljov is eighth in the world, he was fifth, he has 16 titles, but he is still without success at grand slams. As many as 10 quarter-finals, but no semi-finals.

– I do not agree with those who say that Andrej will never win a Grand Slam. He is among the best in the world. We’ll see what happens once he finally gets past the quarterfinals. I am absolutely sure that he can win the biggest trophy. It’s not easy to win the 250 series, let alone the Slam – explains Vicente.

The Spaniard is clear about what his pullen is missing:

– Andrej is now physically ready for the Grand Slam title, he can withstand even the most difficult matches in five sets. All that remains is for him to improve his game and fix himself psychologically.

As proof, he presents results against the best.

– Rublev has already beaten Siner, Djokovic, Alcaraz, Medvedev, Zverev, but all of them are much more stable, they are currently the best in the world – explains Vicente, and his pull has a negative relationship against all of them.

– I’m not going to lie, I’m not stupid, but the difference between Janiko, Carlos and Andrej is now very big. It is huge, but it is something we have to change – he adds.

The priorities for the next year have already been outlined:

– We hope that in 2025 we will see a different Rubljev. He suffered a lot psychologically this year, he did not manage to find an adequate mood during the matches, he also lost against weaker opponents. We remember the disqualification in Dubai, so I’d give him a four out of ten for his behavior.

When it comes to the game, there are a lot of requirements:

– Andrej has to improve his second serve, to go to the net more often, to reduce the number of easy mistakes… Compared to other tennis players, he has to improve his defense as well as his movement. The way he is now, he is weaker than them – Vicente concluded.