"I love Grigor Dimitrov" - Andrey Rublev gets hilariously tricked by Bulgarian in a 'lost in translation' prank at Shanghai Masters

Andrey Rublev and Casper Ruud fell for Grigor Dimitrov's hilarious prank named 'Lost in Translation' at the 2023 Shanghai Masters.

In a bid to provide a little comic relief to some of the top players competing at the Shanghai Masters, the media team organized a prank with the help of the Bulgarian.

The players were asked to read out a line in Mandarin that they thought was for a promotion. The lines actually meant something funny that they read out with a straight face, making it even funnier.

Dimitrov sat behind the scenes and watched as Andrey Rublev stepped up with his part.

"I love Grigor," Rublev hilariously said in Mandarin without knowing its meaning.

Dimitrov, in turn, looked at Rublev on camera with affection and hilariously returned the sentiment with:

"My sweetheart. My love. My darling."

Casper Ruud also faced the camera, joined his hands, and in all seriousness, said:

"All I want to do is play golf."

Dimitrov burst out laughing at Ruud's earnest attempt with no clue as to the phrase's actual meaning. The prank also featured other players including Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz.

Andrey Rublev progresses to the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Masters

Andrey Rublev at the 2023 Shanghai Masters

Andrey Rublev's dream run at the 2023 Shanghai Masters continued with the Russian progressing to the quarterfinals of the tournament. He edged out 12th seed Tommy Paul, 7-5, 7-5, in an hour 35 minutes in the previous round.

This is the World No. 7's second Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the season so far. He had earlier reached the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters, where he ultimately clinched the title.

He is now the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament followed by World No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz, who is through to the semifinals.

In an on-court interview after his victory over Tommy Paul, Rublev admitted feeling a surge of confidence after his US Open quarterfinal finish.

"I'm playing really well since the US Open," Rublev said.

"I felt that in practice but it just takes time to transfer to tournaments and to get confidence. But this week I'm feeling really well so we'll see what happens next."

The win brings Rublev a step closer to qualifying for the ATP finals at the end of the year. A deeper run at the tournament would give him an opportunity to increase his 105-point lead over Stefanos Tsitsipas, who made a second-round exit at the Shanghai Masters.

Rublev will next face Ugo Humbert for a semifinal spot in the tournament on Friday, October 13.