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After two hours and 31 minutes of ruthless tennis, Andrey Rublev beat compatriot Daniil Medvedev 6-7(7), 6-3, 7-6(7) in their first round-robin match at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Before walking off the court, Rublev's gesture once again became a talking point in the tennis world as the 25-year-old appealed for peace. In light of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, the player wrote on the camera lens:
"Peace, peace, peace. All we need."
In February, Russia invaded Ukraine. One of the results of this clash was Wimbledon banning Russian and Belarusian players from competing in this year's Grand Slam event. Following the decision of the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), the men's and women's tennis associations, ATP and WTA, decided to remove the ranking points from the tournament.
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This is not the first time that Rublev has called for peace. After winning a match against Hubert Hurkacz in February, he wrote: "No War Please" on the camera lens.
His message of peace on Monday impressed many, with the majority suggesting that it was unfair that Rublev and others were not allowed to play Wimbledon.
"Andrey Rublev who beat Medvedev, another Russian today in Turin is a thinking, sensitive player and is playing the top 7 other players in the tennis world (ATP Finals). When he wins he always writes about Peace. Pity he and the others not allowed to play at Wimbledon this year," a fan tweeted.
"Love him. Wrote on the camera “No war please” didn’t he, before it had started, yet was banned from Wimbledon, resulting in everyone else losing their points-as you know," another user wrote.
"Andrey Rublev folks, after an all Russian clash at the ATP Finals, makes a statement on the war in Ukraine once again. Third time. He knows how and clearly wants to use his platform for a bigger purpose," another tweet read.
Here are a few more fan reactions:
"I was thinking about the 2020 US Open" - Andrey Rublev after beating Daniil Medvedev
After yesterday's win, the head-to-head between Andrey Rublev and Daniil Medvedev now stands at 4-2 in favor of the Russian. In a press conference after the match, Rublev stated that he kept recalling their 2020 US Open quarterfinal clash, where Medvedev beat him in straight sets.
“I was thinking about the US Open, because when we played in the quarter-finals in 2020, I was 5/1 in the tie-break, also something like 6/2, but I was leading something similar in a tie-break," Rublev said.
"But when I lost that set, I couldn’t play anymore, and I was thinking, 'the same thing cannot happen again and I have to change something. I have to keep playing, because if I win one set, even if I lose in three sets, it’s still good, because here you have a group'," he added.
