"I feel more freedom when Rafael Nadal was not there" - Andrey Rublev jokes about Spaniard's impending comeback

Andrey Rublev recently made a playful comment on Rafael Nadal's impending return to the ATP Tour. Nadal will be in action at the 2024 Brisbane International.

The Spaniard has been out of action since his second-round exit at the 2023 Australian Open, where he sustained a hip strain during his match against Mackenzie McDonald. The recovery took longer than usual, keeping Nadal away from the game for almost a year.

As a result, the former World No. 1 has fallen out of the top 500 in the ATP rankings, and now stands at World No. 663. He recently returned to the tennis court for a practice session in the lead-up to his much-awaited comeback.

Andrey Rublev, currently playing the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London, weighed in on Rafael Nadal's return and joked that his "freedom" would be curtailed once the Spaniard is back. The Russian was quick to add that Nadal's return would benefit tennis as a whole and help bring in more viewers and followers.

Andrey Rublev is particularly looking forward to watching Rafael Nadal play against Novak Djokovic, which he feels will bring more attention to the sport.

"I'm happy for him that finally he's back. But obviously as a competitor, I feel more freedom when he was not there. For tennis, it's great that he's back. He will bring back a lot of spectators, a lot of followers, especially, again back for the tie between him and Novak (Djokovic) will bring a lot of attention again to tennis. So, it's amazing that he's back," Rublev said.

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Andrey Rublev leads 2024 Hong Kong Open field

Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev will commence his 2024 season at the Hong Kong Open, the first tournament of the year that is set to begin on January 1. The ATP 250 tournament will return to Hong Kong for the first time since 2002. Rublev is the top seed at the event.

Fellow Russian and World No. 15 Karen Khachanov, America's Frances Tiafoe, Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo and Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff round out the top 5 seeds. The tournament will also mark the return of former US Open champion Marin Cilic, who was injured and out of action for a large part of 2023.

Rublev finished 2023 inside the top 5 for the first time in his career. He won the ATP 1000 Monte Carlo Masters, the biggest title of his career, and lifted the trophy at the Bastad Open in Sweden. The 26-year-old also reached the final of the Shanghai Masters.