Andrey Rublev again failed to make it past the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament

The tenth day of the Australian Open, ongoing in Melbourne, turned out to be the last at this tournament for Andrei Rublev. After losing in three sets to Jannik Sinner, the world number five stopped in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament for the tenth time. The Italian, who reached the semi-finals for the second time, will now meet with the ten-time champion of the Australian major, Serbian Novak Djokovic.

The fact that Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner will most likely meet in one of the semi-finals of the Australian Open was discussed immediately after the draw. Only a few players could really prevent this, and their list, of course, was headed by Andrey Rublev, third in both rating and skill level in the top half of the bracket.

Rublev played the tournament very well. He pulled out two tough matches, including in the fourth round against the Australian hope and a very difficult opponent for himself, Alex de Minaur. He had two almost perfect matches with strong Americans Chris Eubanks and Sebastian Korda. He was also very good in the confrontation with Jannik Sinner, but he still failed to prevent what looked the most logical just a week and a half ago. The 22-year-old Italian will still face ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic, who on Tuesday defeated the best US tennis player Taylor Fritz in four games for the ninth time. Rublev stopped at the quarterfinal stage of the majors for the tenth time in a row, and only time will be able to answer the question of when he will be able to break his sad unique streak.

Each of the three sets of this match followed a special scenario, but at the same time was a little similar to one another. It was similar in that Sinner invariably retained all the key plays, and in Rublev’s game there was a clear decline, which ultimately became decisive. In the first game, this segment began completely unexpectedly. Having two break points in the fourth game, the Russian lost ten points in a row, and Sinner did not miss the chance to take advantage of such a luxurious gift, soon leading 4:2.

The second set turned out to be the most persistent and spectacular. Rublev earned break points with amazingly beautiful blows, and Sinner, experiencing an ailment in the abdominal area, won them back with an excellent first serve. Having found the optimal combination of power and stability at the end of last season, the world number four demonstrated unusually mature tennis, based on excellent technique and a clear understanding of his real capabilities. He saved first the fourth game, then the sixth, and then the eighth. However, Rublev also sometimes had a difficult time in his serve games, so the tiebreaker at the end of the game was absolutely logical, and the Russian played the first half impeccably, leading 5:1.

The tactics that the Russian used in two protracted rallies, serving at 5:2 and 5:3, can be treated differently. Perhaps somewhere it was possible to take a risk, but Rublev did not force events, trying to play the ball correctly, and Sinner stood like a wall and made sharp attacks. In the end it turned out to be very disappointing. Without making a single obvious mistake, the Russian gave up both minibreaks that he had in reserve and lost a total of six points in a row.

After that, it was almost impossible to win back. Rublev, of course, continued to try, pull and even pull out rallies of thirty blows, earning break points, the number of which eventually grew to eight, but this did not make any impression on the impeccable Sinner. All he could do was methodically put pressure on his opponent and, when the opportunity arose in the sixth game, he made a break. The match, which ended with a score of 6:3, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4, became the most difficult so far for the Italian, who gave up his serve only twice in five rounds.

It is possible to predict how Sinner’s game against Djokovic will go only in general terms. In any case, its psychological implications seem unclear for now. Unlike his opponent, Djokovic is no stranger to semi-finals at Grand Slam tournaments. He went there for the 48th time, but, as the Serb often said, even the most extensive experience is not capable of winning specific points. In addition, we must keep in mind that Sinner has won two of his last three matches against Djokovic. He upset the Serb in the group stage of the November final tournament in Turin, then completely lost the final to him, and a few days later he defeated him again, in the most important meeting of the first numbers in the semi-finals of the Davis Cup, last year’s draw of which remained with the Italian national team.

Rublev can only sympathize, although in general the beginning of this season was successful for him. Tournaments in Hong Kong and Melbourne brought the Russian 650 rating points, which is a good January figure for a top ten player. In the quarterfinals he did not deserve to lose in three sets, but in this case the opponent was too good. However, the marked improvement in his second serve, backhand and the good physical fitness that Rublev showed in Melbourne hint that sooner or later he will find a way out of the quarter-final maze in which he got lost at the majors.

Evgeniy Fedyakov