Andy Roddick is rooting for Andrey Rublev to make his long-desired Grand Slam breakthrough in 2026 and finally reach a Major semifinal.
The Russian, who has been one of the better players on the ATP Tour for the past decade, was just 19 when he made his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at the 2017 US Open.
Since then, Rublev has made the last-eight stage of a Grand Slam eight more times. But still, the world No. 16 remains without a Major semifinal on his resume. He is a four-time US Open quarterfinalist, a three-time Australian Open quarterfinalist, a two-time French Open quarterfinalist, and also has one Wimbledon last-eight appearance.
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When it comes to the tennis part, everyone knows pretty well what Rublev is capable of. But the feeling is that the 17-time ATP champion is dealing with some kind of mental block when he reaches the latter stages of Slams.
Roddick, the 2003 US Open champion, hopes the 16th-ranked Russian can return to the top-10 in 2026 and also end his negative Slam record.
Roddick: I really want Rublev to reach a Grand Slam semifinal
"I see no reason why he couldnt return to the top 10. Hes capable of producing strong results. But he has never reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam, and youd like that to be the main achievement when summing up his career," Roddick said on his podcast.
"I really want Andrey to finally make that breakthrough and reach a Grand Slam semifinal. Is he emotionally imperfect? Of course. But who is perfect? Were all like that. Still, he can literally blow opponents off the court with his forehand and backhand. Do we want to see a bit of Safin-style madness in him? Absolutely."
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Rublev's last Grand Slam quarterfinal came at the 2024 Australian Open, when he was beaten in straight sets by eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
