There comes a point in the lives of most professional tennis players when friendship has to go on the back-burner. That moment arrived at the Gerry Weber Open in the quarter-final between the young rising Russian stars, Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev.
The 19-year-old Rublev was a junior French Open champion, but his experience on the senior tour until this year was slight—though there was certainly some success at Challengers, and this year he won his first Major match to reach the second round of the Australian Open.
Gradually, the youthful, slender 6ft 2in Russian had been edging closer to the top 100, and with his first two wins here, he was assured of that breakthrough, at least to 91 and well beyond that if he went on to convert his first main-tour quarter-final into more.
He was frank about the scale of the task ahead, despite having already beaten No8 seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas plus old campaigner—and something of a mentor—Mikhail Youzhny.
“I expected maybe a 100 a little bit earlier, but really happy that I make it now. Really happy to make the quarter-final in such a great tournament. I just need to work harder now.”
He knew this to be the case because he knew who he now faced: compatriot and friend Khachanov.
The big-hitting Russian, two years older than Rublev, had already made a march up the rankings to a current career-high No38 after his first fourth-round run at a Major at Roland Garros. He beat the likes of Tomas Berdych and John Isner, too, and his confidence seems to grow with every passing month. If Rublev looks younger than his years, Khachanov looks like a man well used to this level: Indeed chalk and cheese—the less assured Rublev a slight, angular, 65kgs to Khachanov’s strapping 6ft 6in 88kgs.
But though this was their first meet on the main tour, they were familiar with one another from two matches played at the Futures and Challenger levels. Back in 2014, they also won the boys silver medal in the Youth Olympics. But that was far from the whole story, as both explained before a match that would have big implications for their ATP rankings but also their place on the Race to Milan #NextGen leaderboard.
Khachanov on Rublev: “We are good friends and we were practising together from 10 years old in the same club in Moscow and now we are practising in the same club in Barcelona. So, we are good friends. We know each other pretty well… Both of us want to win of course. Outside the court, we can be friends but inside the court it’s our job, our sport, and we have to do our best. So, both of us will be motivated and focused.“
Rublev on Khachanov: “We practise together and spend many times together, and know each other really well. We play a few times at juniors, play often in practice, so no secrets—just a friendly match and we both do our best.”
Friends they may be, but make no mistake, there was a lot at stake. Khachanov would rise to 34, and could break into the top 30 with another win. Rublev was looking at 74, and a title run would take him into the top 50.
There was one more prize over the horizon: a possible shot at the eight-time Halle champion himself, Roger Federer, for the winner No wonder they went at it hammer and tong in a compelling two-and-a-quarter-hour tussle.
It was clear from the first game that all friendship had been put on hold, an eight-minute battle that quickly showcased some huge hitting from both men, countless deuces and two break points to Khachanov. But Rublev held.
The big heavyweight game of Khachanov held with relative ease, and again Rublev faced break point: Again the slight teenager served big and held. By 26 minutes, Khachanov had dropped only three points on serve, 3-3, and in the seventh game, Rublev could do little as three meaty forehands hammered past him to bring the break.
Such was the speed and weight of Khachanov’s hitting that the steadily-filling centre court gasped in admiration. But Rublev stayed in touch, and his compatriot threw in his first weak service game to offer the break back, 5-5. In minutes, though, Khachanov had landed some more huge strikes, lunging for one athletic volley to earn break point, and Rublev smashed an easy ball out.
One good turn deserved another, and Khachanov double faulted, then hit two wide backhands to yield yet another break: it would be a tie-break.
Even that was edgy, with the first point replayed after a wrong out call. The lead swung from one to the other, and Rublev had one chance to grab the set, but Khachanov converted his fourth set point, 7-6(8).
The nimble, quick game of Rublev soon hit back, and his angled slices, with a few net attacks thrown into the mix, got two breaks, 5-1. He squandered one of them but took the second, 6-4.
The third set was as tight as the first, and had the makings of another tie-break as each broke the other at the start as they edged past two hours. But Khachanov’s serve was coming to his rescue time and again as the ace count rose to 19, and one wayward game from Rublev was all it took, 6-3 to the senior friend.
Khachanov crushed the ball outside the arena in celebration, but give Rublev the physical and mental development that his 21-year-old friend has, and their matches could become even closer, even better. As it is, this was a very nice hors d’oeuvre.
The semi takes Khachanov to within a point of No2 in the Race to Milan, with Daniil Medvedev, another 21-year-old Russian ranked 60, threatening the third place as he awaits his own quarter-final at London’s Queen’s. There is, it seems, strength in numbers, as Khachanov said:
“Yes, I think it helps all of us and we try to push each other. We are following each other, like results, how we are playing, we try to support, and if we are in the same tournament, then it gives us more motivation to work and to try to beat each other.
For Russian tennis, it is becoming a very healthy picture indeed.