"Every path is different with your own set of obstacles" - Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill moved by Andrey Rublev's message to younger self
Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill recently expressed his appreciation for Andrey Rublev's heartfelt message to the Russian's own younger self. The message featured Rublev telling his younger self about all the personal lessons he has learned from his tennis career over the years.
Born on October 20, 1997 in Moscow to a former pro boxer turned restaurant manager father and a tennis coach mother, Andrey Rublev's introduction to tennis, unsurprisingly, came early. At 13, the Russian embarked on his junior career, eventually making his ATP Tour-level debut in 2015.
Since then, Andrey Rublev has gradually established himself as one of the elite players on the ATP Tour. He reached a career-high ranking of World No. 5 in September 2021, and is currently ranked sixth. The 26-year-old has also clinched 16 singles titles, including two ATP Masters 1000 titles at the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters and the 2024 Madrid Open.
While the Russian's offensive baseliner style of play has yielded success, he is sometimes criticized for being far too one-dimensional, which has arguably stalled his progress at Grand Slams.
So far in his career, Rublev has reached ten Major quarterfinals, but has lost all of them. The World No. 6 is also quite temperamental on the court, and has often had angry outbursts, which have seen him taking out his frustrations on himself.
Recently, Andrey Rublev appeared in a short video produced by the ATP Tour. In the video, the two-time Masters 1000 winner can be seen and heard reminding his younger self that success doesn't necessarily guarantee happiness. The Russian goes on to say that happiness depends on the choices made by listening to the self, and that it can help immensely in dealing with the inevitable tough times in life.
"What I have learned is success isn't going to make you happy. Only you can do that for yourself. When you have choices, listen to yourself and choose what is right for you. You can't avoid difficult moments, but if you are happy with yourself, the difficult moments won't affect you as much. It's only depending on you if you want to change it. Be happy, be healthy, little man," Rublev said.
Clearly moved by the video, Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill took to X (formerly Twitter), reshared the video, and lauded Andrey Rublev.
"A really good watch. A glimpse into the mind of a great player, and a great young man that always wears his heart on his sleeve. Every path is different with your own set of obstacles and it's never a straight line. Enjoy the journey as best you can. Well done, Andrey," Cahill wrote.
Rublev is currently in Beijing for the 2024 China Open, and will get his campaign at the ATP 500 event underway with a second-round clash against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta.
Andrey Rublev heading into China Open 2024 on the back of mixed results during North American summer hardcourt swing; Russian seeded fourth at ATP 500 event
The US Open Series was a bit of a mixed bag for Andrey Rublev. The Russian was on the verge of winning his third Masters 1000 title at the National Bank Open in Montreal, having knocked out Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals. However, he was stunned by underdog Alexei Popyrin in the final.
Earlier, at the Citi Open, Rublev reached the quarterfinals. His Cincinnati Open campaign ended in the quarters as well, with Sinner on this occasion exacting revenge for his Montreal loss. At the US Open, the World No. 6's run was cut short in the fourth round by good friend Grigor Dimitrov in a five-set marathon.
Pablo Carreno Busta awaits the Russian in the second round of the 2024 China Open. Andrey Rublev, being the No. 4 seed, received a first-round bye, and will lock horns against the Spaniard on Friday, September 27. The World No. 6 will face either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Zhang Zhizhen in the third round.