The No. 17 seed faces top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the fourth round at Roland Garros.
PARIS, France — After reaching what he describes as “a dead end” with his on-court mentality, Andrey Rublev says he’s ready for the “new me” to emerge—and he’s hoping that transformation takes center stage at Roland Garros.
The Russian is through to the fourth round in Paris after receiving a walkover from Arthur Fils, the No. 14 seed who was forced to withdraw due to a back injury. A former junior champion here, Rublev has previously reached the quarterfinals in 2020 and 2022. But after back-to-back third-round exits the past two years, he now faces top seed Jannik Sinner with a spot in the final eight on the line.
Rublev trails Sinner 3–6 in their head-to-head but remains a dangerous opponent. He split their meetings last year—making him one of only four players to beat the Italian during a historically dominant season, along with Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“I don’t think it’s more about the game, it’s more about myself,” Rublev told reporters earlier this week. “Last week (in Hamburg) I did well. I was kind of improving. I was in the right direction…
“Game-wise, you cannot control it. You can play amazing out of nowhere, and you can be in your best shape and suddenly play a not good match. So it’s not about the game.”
Learning to accept those ups and downs has become part of Rublev’s growth. After a first-round loss to 18-year-old Joao Fonseca at the Australian Open—a Grand Slam debut for the Brazilian—Rublev rebounded quickly, capturing his 17th ATP title in Doha with wins over Alex de Minaur, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Jack Draper.
Still, his clay-court season has been rocky. Rublev won just three matches across Monte Carlo, Barcelona, Madrid (where he was defending champion), and Rome, and briefly dropped out of the Top 15 for the first time in five years. But he found momentum again in Hamburg, reaching the ATP 500 final just ahead of Roland Garros.