Andrey Rublev, with the victory in three sets against Novak Djokovic in the final in Belgrade, has posted his eleventh career ATP title, divided into six 250s and five 500s. The Russian tennis player, in an interview he granted to Kommersant, talked about his goals, what he needs to win a more important title and why he chose Belgrade over a superior tournament like Barcelona.
He said: “I feel the Barcelona tournament as if it were my home, as I am a member of the club where it takes place, but I had several reasons that led me to the decision not to participate. Last year, the organizers of the Barcelona tournament did not behave too well with some players, myself included.
I don’t want to reveal the details, but they were very important issues, and it’s not surprising that several well-known names weren’t on this year’s list of attendees. As a result, I accepted the invitation to play the Belgrade tournament and, in the end, I didn’t lose here.
In Belgrade I was treated ten times better than I expected.” On the final against Djokovic: “It was a great experience and a great match. The fact that the whole stadium cheered for Novak was completely normal, I knew it would be like that.
Novak had a day off before the final, which I didn’t have, so I didn’t expect to have a better chance if the match went long. I thought I would have time to recover. Also, I remember very well all the times that Novak managed to recover after marathons in the Grand Slams.
I didn’t feel physically superior, no, I didn’t feel I was ahead. Entering the third set, I took a different attitude. I thought I had had opportunities that I have not been able to exploit; some were stupid, others I didn’t play aggressive enough.
So I tried not to make the same mistakes. Rublev then managed to beat all three fab three Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic It’s obviously a great thing. When you get to beat such impressive masters at different times in your career, each time you get a new experience that will help you in the future.
However, it cannot be compared to titles, especially Masters 1000 or Grand Slam.”
Rublev explains what is missing to win a major trophy
About the fact that he has not yet managed to win a trophy higher than a 500: “I’ve had chances.
I recently had a good chance of reaching the final in Indian Wells, where Nadal suffered a rib injury in the semi-finals. Last year I played the finals in Monte Carlo and Cincinnati, but both times I couldn’t deal with the pressure on a psychological level, with the desire to win that I had, I was overwhelmed.
I think this is the key to me: what I miss most is the ability to control my emotions. In big games, for some reason, I allow negative thoughts to flood my head, those thoughts that tell me I’m not going to win, and that’s something wrong.
When you are playing against players of the highest level, you cannot think of the opportunity that you have had and that you have not taken advantage of. There are players who take advantage of that moment of weakness, and in those moments everything is decided.”
About Carlos Alcaraz: “First of all, he is incredibly talented and really loves tennis. I have seen few players who train with eyes as bright as his. Secondly, at a young age he fell into the right hands. The team that is with him right now is working beautifully.
I also have such a person by my side (speaks of Fernando Vicente, his coach ed), but he came into my life later, when I was 18, and so my results have approached 21 or 22 years.” On the season on grass: “Right now we haven’t talked to my team about it.
As far as I know, this will be discussed shortly, but if nothing changes, I wouldn’t want to leave the grass tour completely. Maybe I’ll go to Halle or maybe somewhere else, and after Wimbledon I will return to other surfaces.”
