Andrey Rublev has shared his mindset ahead of the 2025 French Open. Despite reaching the finals of the Hamburg European Open, he is not too pleased about his preparations for Paris.
Rublev entered Hamburg after a third-round exit in Madrid and a second-round exit in Rome. He steadied the ship with hard-fought wins over Justin Engel and Luciano Darderi in the initial few rounds and then eliminated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinal, 6-1, 6-4.
The Russian was asked about finding his form in Hamburg after a mediocre run on clay. He didn’t seem too proud of his achievements this week and felt he made things difficult for himself on tour.
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“Why is it happening for you this week?” the interviewer asked.
“I don’t know. I’m not looking for easy ways, you know. When I have chances to do well, I’m not doing. Then straight before Roland Garros… now I don’t have time to prepare for Roland Garros. This is my mentality,” Andrey Rublev said.
Rublev has a promising record in Paris and is a two-time quarterfinalist at the event. He made his debut in 2017 and reached the last eight in 2020 and 2022. The 27-year-old reached the third round at Roland Garros last year, where he lost to Matteo Arnaldi in straight sets.
Rublev registered his 350th career win on tour in the Hamburg Open semifinals. While the Russian did downplay his preparations heading into Paris, he also felt that he was improving every game.
“It was my best match of the week, for sure. I think I’m playing better match by match. It helped me that Felix played a really tough match against [Alexandre] Muller last night. It finished quite late, it also gave me a bit of an advantage,” Andrey Rublev said.
Rublev has reached the 27th final of his ATP career after defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime in Hamburg. He also strengthened his head-to-head record against the Canadian, 7-1.
Andrey Rublev will take on Flavio Cobolli in the Hamburg Open Final
Andrey Rublev is making his sixth appearance in the Hamburg Open this week. He will take on Flavio Cobolli of Italy in the finals.
While Rublev edged past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals, Cobolli amassed a resilient win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the last four. He outclassed the Argentine in two hours and 47 minutes, 2-6, 7-5, 6-4.
The head-to-head between Rublev and Cobolli is poised at 0-0. While the Italian is chasing his first title in Hamburg, Rublev is a former champion at the event. The Russian clinched his maiden title in 2020 and also secured a runner-up finish in 2019.
With the 2025 French Open on the horizon, it'll be interesting to see who enters Paris on a perfect note. The duo are scheduled to play in the evening session on Saturday (May 24, 2025).
