Andrey Rublev claims he was "completely exhausted" ahead of Monte Carlo final, says he feels "joy and sadness at the same time"

Andrey Rublev's wait for a maiden Masters 1000 title continues as he lost 6-3, 6-3 to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday. The defeat was Rublev’s fourth against Tsitsipas out of a total of seven meetings on tour.

Speaking to the media after his defeat, Andrey Rublev heaped praise on the Greek, admitting that he had been outplayed in the final. But the Russian also pointed out that he came into the match exhausted from his titanic tusles against Roberto Bautista Agut and Rafael Nadal in the previous rounds.

"If we look at today's game, it is clear that he has been better than me," Andrey Rublev said. "If we talk more in-depth, the truth is that I have looked very tired after all the games I have played, exhausted. But it's not an excuse, he's just been better than me, that's all. He is one of the best tennis players on the circuit, and one against whom I have played the most times."

Andrey Rublev went on to claim that he was both happy and sad with his week in the Principality. He called Rafael Nadal 'one of the best in history' and described his win over the Spaniard as 'special', but also expressed disappointment that he couldn't bring his best in the final.

"I feel joy and sadness at the same time," Rublev said. "I feel happy for the week I did, but I feel super sad for the final because I couldn't show my game, I couldn't fight for the victory, I couldn't win. Obviously, I'm happy with the week I had, I beat great players, I beat one of the best in history, so it represents a very special week, regardless of the end."

The Russian then reiterated that he was 'completely exhausted', before going on to compliment Stefanis Tsitsipas for his 'great level of play'.

"But of course, being in games like this one, what you want is to win the title," Rublev said. "I don't always go the way you want, today it happened to me, I was completely exhausted. Stefanos, for his part, showed a great level of play and better than me."

Stefanos Tsitsipas, with his title

Despite his title ambitions, Andrey Rublev confessed that he had almost packed his bags for Barcelona before his quarterfinal clash against Rafael Nadal. He didn't expect to beat the King of Clay, but now he reckons that two days of rest before the start of the Barcelona Open will be enough for him to recover.

"When I confirmed to play Barcelona it was right before match with Rafa (smiling)," Rublev said. "I was thinking in my head that Friday probably I will be already in Barcelona. I hope to be able to debut on Wednesday and thus have two days off, more than enough. We'll see how I feel, I hope I’m ready."

I try to do my best in each tournament: Andrey Rublev

Stefanos Tsitsipas and Andrey Rublev with their respective trophies at Monte Carlo

During his post-match press conference, Andrey Rublev asserted that he always has high expectations of himself at every tournament. The Russian hopes to keep improving by working hard during his practice sessions, but he claimed it is 'impossible' to do well every week.

"I try to do my best in each tournament, work as hard as I can, training in everything that I have to improve and then on the court to be a better tennis player," Andrey Rublev said. "In the end, at this point, everything is decided by small details, in each tournament."

"I would love to play well in Madrid and I would love to play well in Rome, I would love to play well every week, but it is impossible," he added. "There will be better weeks and worse weeks, but there will be some that will be incredible."