Russian youngster Andrey Rublev is the top seed at the NextGen ATP Finals this week in Milan, where eight of the best 21-and-under players on tour will battle it out for one last time in 2017.
Joined by Karen Khachanov, Denis Shapovalov, Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson, Chung Hyeon, Daniil Medvedev and Italian wildcard Gianluigi Quinzi, Rublev and his peers will be the first to play a tournament with new rules the ATP is testing out this week at the Fiera Milano.
“I feel great. I’m excited and I’m happy to be here, so we’ll see what’s going to happen,” Rublev told Sport360 at the NextGen ATP Finals draw party on Sunday night.
“Of course the season was great for me but I hope that the next one won’t be worse and I’ll work hard for it.”
Here are 10 things to know about Rublev…
1. Rublev started the year ranked 152 in the world.
2. He reached a career-high ranking of 35 in October, right before he turned 20-years-old.
3. The Russian is the youngest player in the top-40.
4. In just his fifth Grand Slam main draw, and first as a direct entry, Rublev reached the quarter-finals of the 2017 US Open.
5. He upset world No.9 Grigor Dimitrov and No.14 David Goffin along the way to become the youngest male us open quarter-finalist since Andy Roddick in 2001.
6. Rublev captured his first career title in Umag in july 2017, as a lucky loser.
7. The Muscovite, nicknamed ‘Rubl’, used to be part of a band called ‘Summer Afternoon’ and they released their first music video in September 2015, a cover of One Direction’s ‘Steal My Girl’.
8. He grew up idolising Marat Safin and Rafael Nadal, who ended Rublev’s stunning run in new york in September
9. As a junior, he won the 2014 French Open boys’ singles title and took the singles bronze medal at the 2014 Youth Olympics in Nanjing, as well as silver in doubles.
10. His father Andrey Sr. is a former professional boxer and his mother Marina Marenko is a tennis coach.
