Andrey Rublev goes from slumping to sizzling by channeling emotions in "right directions" 

Andrey Rublev started his semifinal in Madrid on Friday in a familiar way: With a death glare in the direction of his coaching team.

It was the look of a man who had just started a match exactly the way he didn’t want to: By missing a forehand and dropping his opening service game to his opponent, Taylor Fritz. Rublev was coming off one of the best performances and biggest wins of his career, over two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. Now he had given Fritz an immediate leg up.

By the time he crossed to the other side of the court, Rublev had progressed from glaring at his team to muttering at them. Any long-time watcher of the quick-tempered Russian knew how rapidly a situation like this could escalate into a full-blown meltdown. This time, though, Rublev took a few deep breaths, collected himself, and broke back.

“I started really tight,” he admitted afterward.

Going down a break right away might have been a blessing in disguise, though, because Rublev was able to remind himself that it was still early.

“It’s only the beginning,” he told himself. “We have a long set ahead.”

Rublev knew that the longer the match went, and the longer the rallies went, the better it would be for him. While he had a 3-5 record against Fritz coming into this match, he was still the higher-ranked player, the one with a Masters 1000 title on clay, and the one who moves better on the surface. All of that was eventually born out, as Rublev gained control of the points from the baseline, and returned well enough to break Fritz in each set for a 6-4, 6-3 win. Rather than dwelling on his mistakes, or raging about them, he moved on to the next point quickly.

With the victory, he reached his first final in Madrid. He also continued a tournament in which he has broken out of a two-month slump.

On March 1st, Rublev was defaulted from his semifinal in Dubai after a Russian-speaking official said he heard him curse on court. From then until Madrid, he had gone 1-4 and lost three straight first-round matches. He even went out in his opener at one of his favorite tournaments, in Monte Carlo. Now, suddenly, Rublev has a win over Alcaraz on his home court, he’s into his fifth Masters 1000 final, and he’s playing some of the best, most focused tennis of his career.

“At least I was feeling that I’m practicing well, I’m feeling the ball well in practices, so let’s wait for the moment,” Rublev said of his mindset over the last two months.

“Because in tennis, thanks that we have this sport that everything can change so fast,” he said. “We don’t need to wait one year or half year to be able to compete. We have tournaments every week, and we have a lot of big tournaments.”

Mentally I was feeling much better. I put my emotions in the right directions. —Andrey Rublev

It would be understandable if Rublev’s default had weighed on his mind for a couple of reasons.

First, Rublev denied that he had cursed at an official, or done anything default-worthy, and filed an appeal. The ATP, after watching video of the incident, granted it and allowed him to keep the ranking points and prize money he had won at the event.

Second, Rublev’s default, when it happened, seemed out of character. Yes, he’s an emotional player. Yes, his frenzied, self-lacerating rages are legendary and meme-tastic. But he generally saves his rage for himself. He’s not someone who looks for fights, or intimidates officials and opponents, or indulges in gamesmanship. He’s a fiery player, but not a bad actor, and that has made him universally popular with fans and his fellow players.

Rublev is something like the Juan Martin Del Potro of his generation. A well-liked figure with no enemies, who has a game that’s forceful enough to take him to the Top 10, but not quite varied enough to net him Top 5 wins or big titles on a regular basis. Is it possible that his default in Dubai could help change that? Could it help him control himself and stay more positive? Asked by Tennis Channel what the key to his win over Alcaraz was, Rublev, started by talking about his attitude.

“I was able to stay from the beginning of the match to the end of the match without saying one word,” Rublev said with a smile. “Even me, I didn’t think I would be able to do it.”

Asked after his win over Fritz what has changed for him this week, Rublev again cited his self-control.

“Mentally I was feeling much better,” he said. “I put my emotions in the right directions.”

Rublev will try to put them there again on Sunday and win his second Masters 1000 title. If he does that, he might find himself on a shorter list of Roland Garros favorites than he’s been on in the past.

From a default and a slump to a Masters finalist and a major-title contender in just two weeks. As Rublev says, life in tennis comes at you fast. But not too fast to learn something along the way.