Reuters
Russia’s Andrey Rublev reacts during his group stage match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Toby Melville
Reuters
Russia’s Andrey Rublev reacts during his group stage match against Spain’s Rafael Nadal REUTERS/Toby Melville
The current World No. 8, Andrey Rublev, has had a remarkable season this year. Ever since the Russian first emerged, he has been making constant progress with the years passing by.
In 2020, Rublev had the best season in his career so far. He won five ATP titles this year. For the first time ever, the youngster qualified for the ATP Finals. Although he did have a remarkable run, the season-ending Finals wasn’t his best performance this year.
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Rublev was grouped along with Nadal, Tsistsipas and Thiem. The Russian squandered his chance of making it to the semi-finals after registering losses in the first two matches against Rafa and Stefanos. Recently, in an interview, he exclaimed that he would’ve had a better chance had he beaten the Greek in his group stage match.
Andrey Rublev: “Need to Be up for the Challenge”
Reflecting on his performance, he said, “As a result, one point was not enough for me. If I had won that match against Tsitsipas, then maybe I would have made it to the semifinals. True, no one knows how it would have developed then. But if you look superficially, then one point was not enough before.”
Reuters
Russia’s Andrey Rublev in action during his semi final match against Russia’s Denis Shapovalov REUTERS/Anton Vaganov
On analysing his game against Nadal, the Russian felt he could not handle the stress of facing the Spaniard. Revealing more about that, Rublev stated, “In the match with Nadal, I again could not cope with the pressure. I understood that I was having a good season and that I had a good level of play. I wanted to show that I am ready to fight with players like Nadal. He was overwhelmed, reconfigured and could not cope with the pressure. This is the case when you really want to, but in the end here.”
Also Read: Andrey Rublev Expresses Desire to Represent Russia at Tokyo Olympics
Andrey Rublev is one of the most exciting prospects in the men’s game today. He has registered wins over the likes of Federer, Thiem and Tsitsipas in the recent past. Prior to the ATP Finals, Rublev won three out of the four tournaments he took part in. It’ll be interesting to see how he fairs at the Australian Open in a couple of months’ time.
