Mats Wilander believes Russia’s top two men’s players are finding comfort playing on the court in the wake of an ongoing military conflict involving their country.
Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev are competing in this year’s French Open as neutral athletes following a joint-decision by tennis’ governing bodies to remove the flags of Russia and Belarus from being used in tournaments. The action was taken in response to Russia’s ongoing military assault against neighbouring Ukraine which began on February 24th that has already killed thousands of people, according to the United Nations. Both Wimbledon and the British LTA have gone one step further by banning those athletes from competing all together.
Seventh seed Rublev will play Jannik Sinner in his fourth round encounter at Roland Garros on Monday. The 24-year-old is bidding to reach the last eight of the tournament for only the second time in his career after 2020. He trails Sinner 1-2 in their head-to-head with his only victory being due to a retirement.
“I’ve watched him pretty well. He’s winning pretty easily and improving the way he is playing every time I see him,” Wilander told Ubitennis when asked about Sinner’s chances.
“(Andrey) Rublev is probably not a great opponent for him because they play similar and Rublev is a little bit faster.”
Former world No.1 Wilander, who won three out of his seven major titles at the French Open, admits that Rublev can at times lack variety in his game but says it can also be an advantage for him. Furthermore, the Swede believes he is even more focused on the court due to the ongoing political fallout.
“Rublev is tough. I think Jannik has a good chance at some point to be maybe in the top five. But Rublev right now is mentally in a different place.” He continued.
“Of course he doesn’t (have the variety in his game) but sometimes that is also a strength. It is simpler to play when you don’t have the variety and when you have a reason to be extremely focused because of the situation in the rest of the world.’
“It’s a very nice place to be on the tennis court right now when you play in a Grand Slam and you’re not representing your country. It is like a safe place.”
Rublev has dropped a set in all three of his previous matches against Soonwoo Kwon, Federico Delbonis and Christian Garin in the French capital.
Another player bidding for a place in the quarter-finals is Daniil Medvedev who plays Marin Cilic in his fourth round match. The world No.1 has a rocky relationship when it comes to playing on the clay and is yet to win a title of any sort on the surface.
“The same thing applies with Daniil (Medvedev). I think what’s going on in the world has a lot to do with how players react on the court,” Wilander commented. “I think for them (Rublev and Medvedev) it is such a serious situation.’
“I think they are going to die an ‘athlete’s death’ on the court. It’s going to be tough to beat them.” He added.
Praise for Musetti
One player which has caught the attention of Wilander is Lorenzo Musetti. A 20-year-old Italian currently ranked 66th in the world who held a two-set lead against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round before losing. Triggering memories of his clash with Novak Djokovic 12 months ago, which he also lost after having a two-set lead.
“The question for him is how does he learn to play five sets? Maybe he already knows how to play five sets. He has played two (at the French Open) against the champion last year and a potential champion this year. He was two sets to love up against both of them – Jesus, that’s unbelievable.” he said.
“I think he’s going to be unbelievably good. He has the right attitude.”
Despite those two tough losses, Wilander believes Musetti has a very bright future as he tips him to crack the top 10. The 2019 US Open boys champion is yet to win an ATP title, but has scored two wins over top 10 players – Diego Schwartzman at the 2021 Mexican Open and Felix Auger-Aliassime at the 2022 Monte Carlo Masters.
“He has the quality of being in the top 10, for sure,” Wilander states.
“He has the tennis quality to be better than the top 10. It’s very difficult to be better than the top 10 unless you do well at all the majors.”
Musetti’s conqueror Tsitsipas will play Holger Rune in his fourth round match.
