Editor’s note: This story was translated from ATPTour.com/es
Despite having won 12 tour-level titles and finished three consecutive seasons in the Top 10 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Andrey Rublev started 2023 with one thing on his mind; winning a bigger tournament. It was mission accomplished at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he picked up his first ATP Masters 1000 crown. To do so, however, he had to reinvent himself and practically rebuild his entire team in January.
One of his new mentors is fitness coach Marcos Borderias, one of the driving forces behind Rublev’s impressive season. The Spaniard was working with Maria Jose Martínez and Nikolas Sanchez Izquierdo, and with Argentine player Pedro Cachin, whom he was alongside during his rise from No. 253 to No. 54 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. However, he received an Instagram message that persuaded him to change tack. It was a job offer from Galo Blanco, former World No. 40 and Rublev’s agent.
“I couldn’t sleep for three days. I couldn’t believe it. In two years I went from training players outside the Top 500 to the World No. 6. It was a huge leap,” remembers Borderias in conversation with ATPTour.com.
A few days after accepting the job on Instagram, he met his new pupil at a club in Barcelona. Fernando Vicente, Rublev’s main coach since 2016, was also there. Borderias’ admiration for the current No. 6 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings did nothing to prevent him from being objective and he was quick to diagnose which aspects needed work.
“When they contacted me they said, among the best in the world, in terms of fitness, Andrey was at the top,” remembers Borderias. “He may be very good at everything, extraordinary. But when I started I saw that there was room for improvement in his coordination. And there was also work to be done on speed, which is comprised of acceleration, deceleration, footwork and effort. And he’s really improved a lot. We’re still working on it.”
A lot of people may think that adding muscle volume would be the priority for a player who is 6’2” and weighs 75 kilos. To Borderias, though, Rublev’s slight build may even be an advantage.
If Rublev were to increase his muscle volume, he wouldn’t necessarily hit the ball harder. It may even have the opposite effect and rob him of his individuality.
“The best thing about him is his ability to produce power with loads as low as a racket… his hand acceleration is incredible! The time it takes him to complete the concentric phase of racket acceleration is insane, I’ve never seen that in my life,” he added. “And he’s so good technically, which is what allows him to suddenly produce a match in which he hits 40 winners.”
But Rublev’s power was less surprising than his personality. When they met, the 25-year-old player was shy, even to the point that he found it difficult to speak. But since then, they have become much closer through their intense sessions between tournaments and by travelling together to events like Indian Wells and Miami.
“Before we started working they had already told me he was a great guy. I thought: ‘Let’s see if it’s true.’ And honestly, as a person, I’d say you won’t find anyone better. In daily life he is incredible. He’s so generous, altruistic and affectionate with the fans and with us. He always wants to give us the best,” said Borderias.
On court, it’s a different story. Rublev’s strong temperament can be an advantage when it comes to facing big challenges, or a disadvantage if it gets the better of him when things are not going his way. That was another of the aspects that needed work, like his fitness, in 2023. Spanish coach Alberto Martin played a fundamental role in achieving Rublev’s goal of finding emotional balance.
‘Beto’, the former World No. 34 and three-time ATP Tour champion, joined this year as the second coach to complete a team that now also includes Portuguese physiotherapist Carlos Costa and Spanish nutritionist Antonia Lizarraga. ‘Beto’ Martin, however, has a double role to play; he is both coach and psychologist, as he studied psychology at the University of Barcelona and graduated with a Masters from UNED.
“The idea is to help Andrey walk the line between being calmer and not going crazy at the slightest provocation,” says Martin. “But we don’t want him to lose the spark he has which makes him so good, or the aggressiveness. He is a player that has to play very aggressively, and if he’s passive and only pushes the ball, it doesn’t work. And we spoke about this with the team, about trying to find that balance. And, so far, he’s finding it.”
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Rublev has endured moments of frustration during the year. But he has increasingly more tools to quickly come through them and keep his chances of winning alive. Against Rune in the Monte-Carlo final, for example, he came back from 1-4 in the third set. Weeks earlier, he picked up three wins after saving match points; again against Rune in Australia, and against Tallon Griekspoor and Alejandro Davidovich in Doha.
All these success stories are also thanks to his team. “Alberto is a very humble and friendly guy,” said Rublev himself in his post-final press conference in Monte-Carlo. “He has studied sports psychology, and he can explain things to me easily during stressful moments. That has really helped me.”
The new methodology has borne fruit very quickly, and although the long-awaited first ATP Masters 1000 title has finally arrived, nobody on the team is thinking about downing tools just yet.
“The idea is to keep improving to get more results,” said Martin.
Borderias concurs: “Andrey can beat anyone and the idea is for him to keep having chances to win at the big tournaments.”
But to achieve that, all they can do is continue in the same direction.
Rublev announced in Monte-Carlo: “I like how I’m working now with my new team in terms of fitness, treatment, tennis and mentality. I feel this is the right path.”