The Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi is now over. Russian World No. 5 Andrey Rublev has won his maiden title at the exhibition tournament.

Rublev defeated Andy Murray 7-5, 6-2, in straight sets, to win the tournament. Additionally, he has also won the $250,000 cash prize. Not only is Andrey Rublev one of the best players on tour right now, but he is also quite humble.

When told how former World No. 1 players like Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal view him as a ‘top’ player, Rublev remained quite modest.

Andrey Rublev calls it all an illusion

When told about how both Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray consider him one of the top players in tennis, Rublev chuckled. He was also told that they measure their comebacks against a player of his caliber. “This is a bit of an illusion because they know how the situation is,” he responded. “They can say that, but they know they are (the) top (players).”

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Then, Rublev talks about both Murray and Nadal’s comebacks, and how it doesn’t affect their standing on the tour. “Doesn’t matter if they are not playing tennis for one year, and the ranking drop, but they know that they are the top ones, so I don’t believe it!” he expressed his disbelief at the statement.

However, he does acknowledge that he, along with other young players, is being taken seriously by the ‘actual’ top players. “They are taking players like me or other ones, seriously, because we are improving and we’re playing better and better,” Rublev said.

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Rublev wants his generation taken seriously

Furthermore, Andrey Rublev mentions how compatriot Daniil Medvedev and Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas have put the big names in tennis on notice with their skill. “Many guys like Medvedev and Tsitsipas, they prove already that they can win big tournaments and they can beat top players,” Rublev said.

He then hopes that he, too, is counted among the players to watch out for. “They (top players) are taking them, and I hope me as well, seriously, if they have to play against us.” He finishes his response by giving credit where due to both Nadal and Murray. “But they still know that who is the leader, who is the father.”

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