Rubleva course: will our tennis players be able to qualify for the Final tournament

Nine weeks before the start of the final tournament of the season in Turin, our best tennis players are not in the top 8. At the same time, Andrei Rublev and Karen Khachanov, who is having the strongest season in recent years, still have chances. To increase them, we need to perform well at the Asian series, which starts next week. But it's almost impossible for the former world number one to return to the elite this year. For Daniel's new team, this task is probably already for next year.

Conquer China

The "Russian three" performed poorly at the US Open. This is especially true of Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov. The first lost scandalously to Benjamin Bonzi at the start, the second failed to advance to the third round, although he had matchballs with a score of 5:2 in the decisive set with Kamil Maikhshak. Andrey Rublev defended his points last year, but in the fourth round he was hit by Felix Auger-Alliassim, who scored a move. You can hardly blame Andrey for the current situation, the Canadian was really good, also knocking Alex de Minaur and third-seeded Alexander Zverev out of the net. By reaching the semifinals, Felix has risen to 10th place in the championship race and now has a chance to qualify for the final for the first time since 2022.

Rublev is 11th, 660 points behind the coveted eighth place. However, Andrey can try to join the fight for the final. First of all, he's in good shape right now. Of the last 12 matches, he won nine, and lost only to Auger, as well as two representatives of the top 5 - Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz. Secondly, Andrey traditionally performs a lot. It is known that the Russian showed up for two tournaments in September in China. First, in the company of Medvedev and Khachanov, he will play at the ATP 250 in Hangzhou (starting on September 17), and then he will move to the ATP 500 in Beijing (starting on September 25 and will assemble an elite squad: Medvedev, Khachanov, Sinner, Zverev, de Minoire, Musetti).

I am glad that Khachanov will also perform in China. Karen was scared by the first withdrawal of her career when she did not finish the match of the 1/8 finals in Cincinnati against Zverev. "My back hurt. In general, this is the same injury that has already been felt several times in recent years," the tennis player explained. Then came the defeat of the 61st racket of the world Maikhshak, which overshadowed the previous achievements of the Russian.

And he really has something to be proud of this season. In the summer, Karen reached the final of the Masters in Canada, where he lost to Ben Shelton in a dramatic fight, and returned to the top 10 in mid-August. Khachanov is also in tenth position after the American "major". In the championship race, the 29-year-old Muscovite is 13th. Muzetti, who is in eighth place, is 860 points ahead.

— I want to continue in the same spirit — [the final], of course, is just around the corner, there are thoughts about it somewhere. But, probably, it is necessary not just to think about it, but to try to make it a reality. Therefore, it depends on how you will play, in what form you will fit and how to continue. Therefore, this is the main thing," Khachanov told "More!" before the US Open.

Last year, Karen had a great season ending. He won the tournament in Astana, reached the finals in Vienna and the semi-finals of the Masters in Paris. Repeating these results will allow the Russian to compete for the top 8 in the championship race. Khachanov has never played in the final, but after a successful 2018, Karen was a reserve at the ATP Finals.

Appreciate the chances

Medvedev has been selected for the final six years in a row since 2019 (Rublev — five years in a row, starting in 2020). Daniil won the Masters of the Masters in 2020 and reached the final in 2021. In 2023, the Russian reached the semifinals, where he lost to Sinner, and last season he could not get out of the group, having won only one victory over de Minaur.

This year, Medvedev can hardly expect to continue this wonderful series with participation in the final championships. In the race, after failing to perform at all Grand Slam tournaments without exception, he is only in 22nd place. As a result, this led to a change of coach, and now the former world number one is trying to return to the elite along with Swede Thomas Johansson and Australian Rohan Gotzke. Johansson, the 2022 Australian Open champion, previously worked with former world number one Caroline Wozniacki, Borna Choric, Maria Sakkari, Filip Krajinovic, David Goffin and Sorana Kirstea.

Gotzke has experience with Richard Krajicek in his track record. Under his leadership, the Dutch tennis player became the fourth racket of the world and won Wimbledon in 1996. In recent years, Rohan has been working at the CourtSense Academy. Both specialists are still on probation for the Asian series. In the next month and a half, Medvedev will have a busy schedule, and conclusions, apparently, will be made after the Masters in Shanghai. However, only his former coach Gilles Cervara and his most desperate fans believe in Medvedev's revival now.

"Medvedev is already 29 years old, he has a huge number of titles, and he will not listen to any mentor as flawlessly as he did 15 years ago when he was striving to rise in the rankings and earn money,— former world number one Yevgeny Kafelnikov told TASS. — Against this background, Djokovic is unique, but you can't compare the mentality of a Russian person and a foreigner. Everything is different there. People appreciate the chances that life gives them — unfortunately, we don't. I can say the same thing about myself. If I could change something, I would certainly change it. Unfortunately, this is the nature of the Russian person.

Note that so far only Alcaraz and Sinner have qualified for the final.