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ADELAIDE INTERNATIONAL

January 18, 2020

Andrey Rublev

Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

A. RUBLEV/L. Harris

6-3, 6-0

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Congrats. You're the first player since 2004 to win the first two titles in the first weeks of the year. How does it feel to pull that off?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, I was not thinking about it, but, I mean, it's amazing feeling. Of course it's amazing feeling. Doesn't matter when. When you just win a title it's always amazing feeling.

It's not about first weeks or not first weeks. I'm really happy. I hope I keep working. I hope I keep improving, and we'll see what's gonna happen.

Q. What was the turnaround like for you from the semifinals? You had a big match, finished at midnight, three hours. You came out today. Looked like you felt great. How did it feel on the court?
ANDREY RUBLEV: No, to be honest, I was quite tired. I was still having enough energy. I don't know. I was feeling well.

Anyway, after tough yesterday's match, of course I was, I mean, not fresh as before but was enough to fight.

I was, I don't know, I was just thinking, okay, keep fighting. Let's try. This is the last game. We need to give everything. You were fighting till, I don't know, 12:00, not to cry now in the finals. So just keep fighting, keep fighting, and we'll see in the end.

The first set was really tough because he had couple of breakpoints and was really nervous and tough first set. And then, I don't know, I start to play even better. I think he get maybe a little bit disappointed because he had chances in the first set and he didn't make it. He was, I think, a little bit down.

And I start to play even better. In the end, the second set was -- I don't know. I played really well second set.

Q. Is this the best you feel you ever played? How much of that is to do with being more mature?
ANDREY RUBLEV: You mean today, my level, or in general these weeks?

Q. What you have done so far these two weeks.
ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, if you talk about results, of course this is the best for the moment I ever done. But if you talk about level, then no, I would not say, because there was even in the past, even last year I was showing sometimes even better games or better level, but it was once in, I don't know, two months, you know. It was not -- now it's more consistent.

This is what we are working for, to be more consistent, to be more, I don't know, more mentally strong. This is what we're working for. And I'm happy that, I don't know, these two weeks went this way. I don't know. I got two titles. It's amazing. I never had this before.

So I don't know. We'll see now what's gonna happen in Melbourne. I go there completely, I don't know, free because I did already amazing. So we'll see what's gonna happen.

Q. What's better? Winning two titles in a row or beating Roger Federer?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Winning two titles in a row (smiling).

Q. Can I just ask about the confidence boost it gives you going into Melbourne? What do you think you can achieve at the Open?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know. I'm not thinking, and I'm not putting any goals, anything. I'm just going there to try to do my best, to have as best attitude as I can and to give my best. And that's it.

And if the guy will show better game, he beat me in the first round, okay, we keep working. If it will be enough to pass one round, two rounds, also perfect for me.

So we'll see what's gonna happen. I don't know. I'm not looking what's gonna happen. I just want to do my best, and we'll see.

Q. I read that you were once in a One Direction covers band. Is that right?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Uh-huh.

Q. Can you tell us about that?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Again, repeat?

Q. I read once that you were in a One Direction covers music band.
ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, I did once, was I think four years ago. It was not, how you say, One Direction cover band. It was just that we took one song from them to do a cover.

But, yeah, because the song was more or less nice to do a cover. And I don't know. It's like was in the middle. It was not dance, was not rock, was not pop. It's like everything. Like middle classic normal song and was nice to do cover, so we did it. It was four years ago. And that's it.

Q. We have heard this week Felix was talking about playing the piano. Do you play any musical instruments?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Yes, I'm learning guitar. I'm taking lessons.

I don't know. In general I like music and I always, when I was a kid, was trying to play guitar. But because of tennis I never had time. So in the end I put it back. Now during preseason I had time, and I took a teacher and every evening I was getting lessons.

I mean, of course I'm not playing or something. It's just -- I'm beginner, but I enjoy a lot.

Q. Do you have any musical heroes, bands that...
ANDREY RUBLEV: No, no, just taking private lessons with a guitar.

Q. When you say what you're working on is the consistency and the mental strength, how exactly do you work on that? Because it's not something easy.
ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, how you say, it's like -- it's easy and it's not easy. I mean, if you think logical, every player will understand why he lost this match, because I show emotions. It's like two plus two.

But in the end, not everyone can change it. Because you understand, yes, I show emotions, it was wrong. But then you go on exam, you do the same.

And this, to understand it, it's easy. But to correct, you need to be really strong mentally.

It takes time. I don't know. It's just pushing yourself, Okay, I did this wrong, I need to do it. And maybe next day you do a little bit less. Then next day you do a little bit less. It's little by little by little like this you improve. I don't know.

Q. Do you rewatch some of your matches where maybe you lost your cool or show too much emotion or something? Do you rewatch that to try and rectify that?
ANDREY RUBLEV: To be honest, not really. Of course I'm sometimes I'm watching my matches, but I'm watching more what I did wrong in the game part, like what was more about this when -- if you talk about mentally, I mean, it's more about if you just sit and you just think with yourself and logically, okay, what I did there, what I did there.

You talk with the coach, he tell you his opinion, and like this. If you -- I don't know. If you think, you will understand. For the moment, nothing special. There is no secrets.

Q. Russia has got, I think, more players than anybody else in the top 20 on the men's side. Do you, Karen, Daniil, how much do you all feed off one another, get the benefit of each other's results to push you along?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know about guys, but for me, it's not even about that we push each other or something, because each one, we have our own lives. We practice in different places.

I mean, of course we are good friends, we spend a lot of time together. But I don't know. For me, there is the same -- like, Lloyd Harris is also a guy my age who is doing well. Like I don't know all the rest of the guys, so it's not only if I'm looking Russians. It's in general.

When you see one guy's doing well or something, I think it's give you -- I mean, at least for me it gives more confidence that, okay, this guy is doing well. For sure if I do everything right I will also have chances. It's more about this, I think.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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