Roger Federer proves he is the 'best in history' every week: Andrey Rublev

Defeating Roger Federer is not something that many can boast of, especially at the young age of 21. But Russia’s Andrey Rublev did just that when he took on the legendary Swiss in the Round of 16 at last year’s Cincinnati Masters.

Rublev knocked out the man whom he considers ‘the best in history’, and that too in straight sets. The final scoreline read 6-3, 6-4 in the Russian's favor, and a star was born.

Rublev talked about how he went crazy practicing for 6 months, praising Federer for dealing with expectation (He's supposed to win every time!) and loss and his nerves when trying to close the match vs Federer. https://t.co/TNta7ZEDfS

— Jess 🍵 (@jessica4stein) August 23, 2020

A year down the line Andrey Rublev is back playing at the Western & Southern Open, and in an interview with ATPtour.com he recalled that monumental victory over Federer.

Roger Federer is a legend: Andrey Rublev

Roger Federer

Roger Federer came into the 2019 Cincinnati Masters on the back of a good performance at Wimbledon, but at the same time carrying the ghosts of his heart-wrenching defeat to Novak Djokovic in the final. The Swiss began his campaign on a good note, as he defeated Juan Ignacio Londero in straight sets.

However, he was left stunned by the brilliance of Rublev in the very next round. The young Russian played some excellent shots and moved incredibly well to deal with the variety in Roger Federer’s shots. The great Swiss had no answers to the near-perfect game that Rublev displayed on the day.

Andrey Rublev (+700) defeats Roger Federer in straight sets at Cincinnati...Roger's last tuneup before the US Open 😨pic.twitter.com/CSRej42aXT

— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) August 15, 2019

It was arguably the biggest victory of Andrey Rublev’s career until that point, and during the interview he looked back at the memories with great fondness. The Russian also talked about how Roger Federer has created a larger-than-life aura around himself, because of which every defeat he suffers attracts a ton of questions.

Rublev believes that dealing with such pressure is ‘tough’ for the Swiss.

“Of course it was an amazing match and was really emotional match, special match. I mean as I said already many times that match I don't know. I was more impressed even with Roger,” Rublev said.

“Because imagine how tough for him that every week he need to prove that he is the best because I think we played 3rd or 4th Round. Even 4th round and how much attention it was because he lost. Even if I lose 4th round I don't have this attention in press. No one really care,” he continued.

Andrey Rublev after defeating Roger Federer last year

Rublev pointed out how Federer is at a level where he’s expected to do well every week. According to the Russian, this ability to deal with pressure and prove his detractors wrong on a regular basis enhances Federer’s claim to be the ‘best in the history’.

“And him he need to play minimum final every week to don't have this attention that - ‘Oh Roger lost’. And every week to prove it. So imagine how much pressure he has and every week he proves that he is the best in the history,” Rublev said.

Roger Federer is currently ruled out till 2021

Roger Federer lost the match that day, but won the admiration and respect of the young Andrey Rublev. Even in defeat the Swiss was as gracious as ever and that greatly impressed Rublev - who already held Federer in very high regard.

The Russian believes that this quality of being able to take defeat in such a serene manner is what makes Roger Federer a ‘legend’.

“This is amazing and during the match I don’t know I was feeling that how much I respect Roger," Rublev said. "How big a legend he is. Even when he lost you feel something unreal that he goes there completely accepting today was not my day. That's why he's a legend."

Rublev went on to describe the 'fear' that gripped him when it became apparent that he could pull off the upset. His nervousness rose to even greater levels as the match drew to a close, and the Russian claims he couldn't even drink water towards the end.

"I was playing with fear. You cannot imagine when I was a set up and break up you cannot imagine what was in my head," said Rublev. "I was thinking and I was shaking. I was not even able to drink water."