Marat Safin on coaching Andrey Rublev: “I can show him the road, but he needs to walk it"

Andrey Rublev returned to his winning ways at UTS Nimes on Friday, taking down Ben Shelton and recording a 2-1 victory inside a picturesque Roman amphitheater that dates back to the first century.

It was also a picture-perfect start to his new partnership with new coach Marat Safin, a former world No. 1 from Russia and two-time Grand Slam winner. One of Rublev’s childhood heroes, Safin will join Fernando Vicente on his coaching team during the clay-court swing.

Read More: Andrey Rublev hits the practice court with Marat Safin in Barcelona

Though the partnership is just a few days old at most, the early signs in Nimes are already positive.

“We had a tactic from Marat, and we were just trying to follow it,” Rublev told press after his win over Shelton.

The pair were spotted undergoing their first practice sessions in Barcelona at Galo Blanco’s 4Slam Academy earlier this week, following the news of their partnership which was reported by Sofya Tartakova of Bolshe.

The move comes as world No. 9 Rublev is looking to snap out of a lingering slump. Having leveled out after an up-and-down 2024 season, the Russian won his first title of the year in Doha, but then went 0-3 after Dubai, Indian Wells and Miami.

The 27-year-old, who opened up about his struggles with depression and mental health, said he previously reached out to Safin for advice during the toughest times.

Safin, like Rublev, was born in Moscow to a sports-mad family and attended the Spartak Tennis Club as a junior, and both eventually relocated to a training base in Spain. Despite Safin’s own mercurial nature and on-court antics, he managed to hone his emotions and claim two Grand Slam titles in his Hall of Fame career—a blueprint that Rublev would also like to follow.

“He’s been through many things in his life, plus on top of that he knows me since I was little and I know him all my life,” Rublev told press in Nimes.

“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.”

After his 2009 retirement from professional tennis, Safin had stints as an official in the Russian Tennis Federation, a member of the Russian Olympic Committee, and even a member of Russian Parliament. But he had never officially played the role of coach until Rublev came calling.

When asked about the tennis wisdom he is looking to impart to Rublev, Safin said he’s not expecting “magical” progress in his first coaching venture.

I can show him the road, but he needs to walk it. Safin on coaching Rublev

“Well, it depends on him. I can show him the road, but he needs to walk (it),” Safin said of Rublev. “It’s not going to happen magically, you need to work your way. So I think it’s up to him.

“Let’s see how it goes for the next couple of weeks, but I think he’s willing to do it.”

Safin’s official ATP coaching debut will come at next week’s Rolex Monte Carlo Masters, where Rublev won the 2023 title and reached the 2021 final. The pair are set to work together until at least Roland Garros.

In the meantime, Rublev moved into the semifinals in Nimes, where he will face Casper Ruud on Saturday.

Rewatch Marat Safin’s coaching debut, and keep up with all the action from 2025 UTS Nimes on Tennis Channel.