"Mentally I was Rafael Nadal" - Andrey Rublev on "fairy tale" win over Roger Federer

Andrey Rublev is one of the rare active players on the ATP Tour who has beaten all the 'Big 3' players- Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.

The Russian bettered Swiss legend Federer at the 2019 Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Nadal at the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters, and Djokovic at the 2022 Belgrade Open.

Rublev recently looked back at his win against Roger Federer in an interview with Russian YouTube Channel 'More!'. During his chat, the 26-year-old was asked about his wins against the 'Big 3' and which of the wins was the most special to him.

Rublev chose his triumph over Federer as his most special 'Big 3' win. He entered the main draw at the 2019 Western & Southern Open as a qualifier and defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili, Stan Wawrinka, and Roger Federer before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals.

The World No. 6 delved deep into the circumstances under which that win against Federer came, making the result even more remarkable. The Russian believed that all the stars aligned for him to achieve that victory.

"Against Federer, it was like a fairy tale, unreal. How it all came together. And it was my first big win. It was a fairy tale, all stars aligned. Something like that happens every 700 years, like an asteroid. I wasn't ready at all back then. It was like a gift. That match was too perfect," Rublev said 58:00 minutes into the interview.

Andrey Rublev provided more interesting background details about that match, which made his result more noteworthy. The Russian shared that he had forgotten to sign up for the tournament, and after he finally signed up, he was the last alternative. He also did not have an appropriate racket to play with.

"I forgot to sign up for the tournament, I shouldn't have played at all, I was the last alternate, with one racket with a shaky handle," he said.

Moreover, that year, Rublev had lost multiple times to his opponents in Cincinnati before he played Federer.

I played against a player I always lost to. I lost to (Mikhail) Kukushkin 3-4 times that year. I lost to (Nikoloz) Basilashvili a couple of times and in the Hamburg final, (Stan) Wawrinka always beat me easily. And I've beat the first, the second, and the third and it's Federer," Rublev added.

The 26-year-old mentioned that he did not like the racket he used during his match against the 20-time Grand Slam champion. However, he served impeccably; even his second serve caused Federer trouble. His returns and volleys had extra oomph, and he felt that his mental level was on par with Rafael Nadal.

"I hated the racket I was playing with, but didn't matter what I was doing, it all went in, everything. Impossible serves, that never happened before, an unexplained second serve that he couldn't attack, returns, volleys that stayed in with some kind of magic, and mentally it was like I was (Rafael) Nadal," he said.

However, after the magical victory against Federer, Rublev was easily ousted by compatriot Medvedev in the subsequent round.

"It was as if I was given a gift: that's what you can be if you keep going in the right direction. And after the match with Federer I was brought back to reality. Now go to work," Rublev stated.

A look into Andrey Rublev's head-to-head record against the 'Big 3'

Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev's win over Roger Federer in Cincinnati was his sole encounter against the Swiss legend. The 42-year-old retired from the tennis in 2022. The Russian has played the other two legends of the 'Big 3' more frequently.

The Russian has faced Rafael Nadal three times. The Spaniard came out on top in the quarterfinals of the 2017 US Open and group stage match at the 2020 ATP Finals. Andrey Rublev won against Nadal in the quarterfinals of the 2021 Monte Carlo Masters.

Andrey Rublev has played against Novak Djokovic six times. The reigning World No. 1 was victorious in their first matchup during the 2021 ATP Finals, and Rublev leveled the head-to-head record in the final of the 2022 Belgrade Open. Since then, the Serb has won four straight matches, most recently in the semifinals of the 2023 Paris Masters.