Marat Safin suggests he definitely has assets to help Andrey Rublev but highlights that it is up to the 27-year-old to put up the work and believe in the process.
A couple of days ago, Russian tennis blogger Sofya Tartakova dropped a bombshell when she reported that the Russian tennis legend was the new coach of the world No. 9. Since then, news has been officially confirmed and the two will officially work until at least the end of the clay season.
During his 12-year career, Safin won two Grand Slams and reached the world No. 1 ranking. Since he has accomplished two of the biggest things a tennis player could do, it is safe to say that the 45-year-old knows what it takes to win on the biggest stage.
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Safin: I can show Rublev the road, but he needs to walk it
Well, it depends on him. I can show him the road, but he needs to walk (it). Its not going to happen magically, you need to work your way. So I think its up to him. Lets see how it goes for the next couple of weeks, but I think hes willing to do it," the former two-time Grand Slam champion said on Tennis Channel.
Rublev has been regarded as one of the better players on the Tour for years now as he is a 17-time ATP champion and has been ranked as high as No. 5 in the world. But he simply hasn't been able to make a breakthrough on the biggest stage - he has that infamous 0-9 record in Grand Slam quarterfinals.
I think he can help me, but I cannot be specific because we only started to work like three days (ago). We will see after a couple of months," Rublev said of Safin.
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The 27-year-old hasn't had much consistency this year. After losing in the Australian Open first round, the Russian won Doha in February. But since lifting the Doha title, he has lost his last three matches.
