Andrey Rublev has insisted that it is vital he maintains focus on his tennis and not think about what others might expect from him.
The world No.7 has experienced a roller-coaster 2023 season so far which has seen him win 11 out of 18 matches played on the Tour. Rublev’s best run was reaching the final of the Dubai Tennis Championships before losing to Daniil Medvedev, as well as a quarter-final appearance at the Australian Open. On the other hand, the 25-year-old has also failed to win back-to-back matches in four out of seven tournaments played.
Trying to maintain more consistency on the Tour, Rublev says dealing with pressure in the sport is a normal occurrence for him and his peers. At a young age, the Russian impressed on the junior circuit when he became No.1 in the world. Since then, he has won 12 Tour titles, as well as a gold medal in mixed doubles at the Tokyo Olympics.
“The pressure is always there but it depends on you, if you feel that there is a lot of pressure, then there is a lot of pressure, but it depends on you,” Rublev said during an interview with ESTO.
“It’s not about feeling pressure or not, it depends on what you do with it because everyone feels pressure, but it depends on you and what you do,” he added.
Rublev is one of three Russian men in the world’s top 20 along with Medvedev and Karen Khachanov. Although they are currently only allowed to compete on the Tour as neutral athletes due to the war in Ukraine. It would be assumed that there is some form of rivalry between the trio to become the best player in their country. However, Rublev has a different view on the matter.
“I don’t feel responsible for being one of the best Russian tennis players and my goal is simple, to be better in my tennis, if I’m good in my tennis then everything is simply getting better in my results,” he stated.
On Monday Rublev co-headlined the second edition of the Tennis Showdown exhibition event in Mexico alongside Medvedev. Held at The Plaza de Toros México, the event featured one singles and one doubles match.
Despite Medvedev playing in the final of the Indian Wells masters just 24 hours earlier, he put up an impressive fight before losing 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4), to his compatriot after almost two hours of play. On the ATP Tour, the two have locked horns seven times with Rublev only winning twice.
“Hello everyone! Thank you very much for tonight and this match, tonight is very special for me and Viva México!” El Ecomonista quoted Rublev as saying during the trophy presentation.
However, it wasn’t all good news for the organizers of the event. One media source said that the event only attracted around 70% of its capacity and some fans left before the match ended due to the time of night.
Both Rublev and Medvedev are now travelling to Miami to compete in this week’s Masters 1000 event. Rublev is seeded sixth in the draw and will play against either JJ Wolf or Alexander Bublik in his opening match. Meanwhile, Medvedev is the fourth seed and starts against either Bernabe Zapata Miralles or Roberto Carbellas Baena.