Cool Head: Rublev Rolls Into Fourth Roland Garros Fourth Round
By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, May 24, 2026
Photo credit: Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships
In the past, a raging Andrey Rublev could implode like a man with hair on fire.
These days, a cool-headed Rublev is trying to manage the mental game—and his long hair—with a little bit more care.
Rublev ripped 44 winners nullifying Nuno Borges for the fifth time in a row 7-5, 7-6(2), 7-6(2) to roll into the Roland Garros fourth round for the fourth time.
The 11th-seeded Rublev arrives in week two seeking to shatter a major barrier. Rublev has contested 10 career Grand Slam quarterfinals and is aiming to advance to a maiden major semifinal at Roland Garros.
Rublev will face either eighth-seeded Aussie Alex de Minaur or 2025 Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik, one of only three men to defeat No. 1 Jannik Sinner this year, for a quarterfinal return.
Sporting a shoulder-length lion’s mane of crimson locks, Rublev’s hair was a topic of discussion today following a head-turning serving performance that saw him pump 12 aces against three double faults.
Asked his hair-care routine in his post-match presser, Rublev said reaction to his long locks has been extreme based on his results.
When Rublev was struggling, some critics complained his do made him resemble a poor primate. Now that he’s winning, Rublev hears fans calling him a “rock star.”
“It’s funny, because when I was kind of far away from top 10 and things like that, it was opposite,” Rublev said. “[People said] Can he have a normal haircut?
“What is this with his hair? He looks like a monkey. He have no money to have a haircut?
“Then when you start to be a better player, somehow you appears to the top 10, it’s, like, Wow, what hair he have, what a style, he’s a rock star.
“I had all my life, this hair. How that opinion change, you know? But, of course, I’m taking care, but not crazy.”
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and Rublev said he likes the look of his 10 career Slam quarterfinals.
“No, I don’t feel I have must [reach a Slam semifinal] or no, because I know if I will do the things right, I will do it,” Rublev said. “Doesn’t matter this time, next time, or in couple of years anyway, because in the end, ten quarterfinals I have. It’s bigger than many players who did one or twice semifinal, and I will not replace those ten quarterfinals for one or two semifinals.
“More semifinal, quarterfinal is the same. It’s not final. Final, yes, I will do replace (smiling), but semifinal, no.”
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