“You have to play the perfect day”: Andrey Rublev on facing Djokovic or Nadal in a tournament

Andrey Rublev firmly believes any player must play perfect tennis to defeat Djokovic or Nadal in a tournament. The 25-year-old reckons that everything should work mentally and physically to have a fighting chance against the 22-time Grand Slam winners.

The Russian also believes that if any part of one’s game feels off, the champions will use it against the opponent to defeat them. Rublev, currently ranked sixth, has beaten Djokovic only once in four meetings and Nadal just one out of three times.

Rublev reached the semifinal of the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships with a victory over Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the quarterfinal, where he will face Alexander Zverev. Djokovic is also competing in the tournament and could potentially be the Russian’s opponent if they both make the final.

In his press conference after his quarterfinal victory over van de Zandschulp, Rublev was asked about facing Novak Djokovic. The Russian cheekily responded, saying he’s not playing Djokovic yet; instead, he is facing Zverev, but if he has to play Djokovic, he will hope he didn’t have to.

“I'm facing Sascha. We're from different parts. Novak is facing Medvedev. If I'm going to face Novak, first I need to win (the) semifinal. If I will face Novak somewhere later during the season, I hope I'm not going to face him,” he said, smiling.

When asked about his thoughts on the comment, he said he would have to be "perfect" to face players like Djokovic and Nadal.

“No, there is no thoughts,” he answered. “I mean, when you play players like Novak or Rafa, you have to play the perfect day. You have to play today everything should work, mental-wise, physical-wise. You have to be fresh. Shots have to be really clean and clear idea how to play. Serve have to be on a good part and return. Then you have good chances to fight against these top players.”

The Russian added that any weakness would be taken advantage of by the 22-time Grand Slam winners.

“If you don't feel something, like today you don't really feel the serve or you're physically tired or you show weaknesses mental, they use it straight away. That's why they are much better.” he concluded.

“Support, I think, is always helping”: Andrey Rublev says it always helps when the crowd supports him

Andrey Rublev is currently trying to defend his title at the 2023 Dubai Tennis Championships. In the round of 16, the Russian saved 5 match points against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, where he received a lot of support from the crowd.

When asked if the crowd helped or had a negative impact on him,The 25-year-old responded that the support is "always helping."

“Support I think is always helping. When you feel a lot of people support you, you have much more support than your opponent, in my case I think it helps.” he said.

The Russian commented that he was not used to playing in front of a large crowd, as he broke into the top 10 during the pandemic. However, post-pandemic, World No. 6 can feel that more and more people are supporting him.

“When I become top 10 was pandemic time. Anyway, if I was playing center court, there was no crowd. Now I think it's basically one and a half year that I can feel more and more people support me. I don't know, is a great feeling.” expressed Rublev.