"Outside the court, everything is planned for Carlos Alcaraz, would be interesting to see what happens when he faces tough situations" - Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev recently spoke about the apparent contrast in his and Carlos Alcaraz's on-court personas, attributing it to the Spaniard's different approach to handling his off-court matters.
Rublev has earned a reputation of being emotionally volatile during matches. He has frequently been spotted having meltdowns, hitting himself, and engaging in self-destructive behavior on the court. The Russian has also frequently discussed his efforts to improve his psychological stability, and vowed to try and maintain his composure on court.
During a recent interview with a Russian YouTube channel, the 26-year-old was asked about Carlos Alcaraz's positive energy on the court compared to his own 'depressing' aura. In response, Andrey Rublev highlighted the contrast in their career graphs, emphasizing that the Spaniard had already reached great heights and was now aiming for further glory.
"Carlitos (Carlos Alcaraz) is young, everything is planned for him outside the court, because he's an insanely good player. He's managed to break through, he was No. 1, he won Slams. He's already achieved what players dream of. Now he needs to achieve more, win more Slams," Rublev said (at 48:00).
The Russian further stated that Alcaraz was not burdened with the responsibility of decision-making as his team handled everything for him. Rublev also expressed curiosity about how the Spaniard would deal with tough situations, as those required experience.
He cited the example of having problems with your agent as one such challenging situation, saying that it could result in financial pressure and make it difficult to concentrate solely on tennis.
"Outside the court, everything is planned and done for him. It would be interesting to see what happens when he faces some tough situations in his life, how he manages them because you need time and experience to sort it out, to understand it," Rublev said (at 48:42).
"An easy example is the agency. Problems with your agent. When you stop working together, the contracts, who gets what, they'll try to squeeze everything out of you. Those moments affect you, you start to think not only about tennis," he added.
Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev have played each other once before
Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev have faced off in just one tour-level encounter, at the 2023 ATP Finals. Alcaraz and Rublev were drawn in the Red Group at the event, with both players attempting to win their maiden title at the year-end championships.
Following a defeat to Alexander Zverev in his first group stage match, the Spaniard bounced back strongly to claim a 7-5, 6-2 win over Rublev. The World No. 2 dominated the encounter, triumphing in 74 minutes to keep his semifinals hopes alive.
Rublev, on the other hand, suffered his second group stage defeat, having also lost to Daniil Medvedev in his tournament opener. The Russian came up short in his final match as well, losing to Alexander Zverev.
Alcaraz went on to advance to the semifinals, emerging victorious over Medvedev in his last group stage match. However, he couldn't book a place in the final, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.