NITTO ATP FINALS

November 17, 2020

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

S. TSITSIPAS/A. Rublev

6-1, 4-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously a tough loss today. Still, your season is not over. You have a match against Thiem. How would you reflect on the season in general even if it's possible after this tough match?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Of course I'm grateful for the season. I mean, I cannot complain. I win so many tournaments that I never win before. I mean, this year I win more tournaments than in my career. I win more matches than in my career.

So I'm the one who cannot complain. I can be only grateful for the season. I become top 10 for the first time. So, yeah, the season was amazing for me. Nothing to say. Of course could be better but could be much, much, much, much worse, so...

Q. Despite the loss, it was an amazing game. Let me ask you, what do you think do you have to improve for the next game?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, next game. Dominic won two matches. He beat I think one of the best match this year that we saw was today coming against Rafa.

So, I mean, he's already in semis so he have nothing to lose. He will go on court and he will play free. He's in a really great form now. So we'll see. I mean, I think this week he's much better than me, but still I will try to give my best effort just to see if I can compete.

It's great experience, because this event give you chances to play against the best players, and you have to use all of them. Doesn't matter even if I'm already out, still I have to play my maximum, because in the end it's best players and I need to perform my best.

Q. The first set went so quick, but then you managed to get a foothold in the match and turn things around. Can you take positives from that going into your match against Dominic?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Of course. I mean, it's not easy. In a way, I mean, people see only the picture that I did so good this season, that I win so many tournaments, but, I mean, it's tough, many things that it's not easy that I'm going through. And in the end it's amazing.

I mean, this match that I could turn around basically that was supposed to be maybe 6-1, 6-3 and I was still there, I was still fighting, and in the end I had match point. So in the end I was almost there and I had my chance to win the match.

So I'm really happy with my mental part today. This is the only thing I can take to play against Domi, because against Domi, you need to have really strong mental part and then you have to play amazing match.

Q. I feel sorry for you. I think it's difficult to swallow of course. But today Nadal said that he was feeling positive, which after a defeat is never easy. So I think you could get some positive points from it. I want to ask you, if you haven't been asked already, if this has been the most painful double fault of your life?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, for Rafa it's a little bit more easy to be positive because now it depends on him if he's in semis or not. In my case, it's over (smiling).

I mean, I can take positive things that I was fighting today till the end and I had my chance. That's the only positive thing. But the tournament is over for me.

About double, it's not only about double. In general, this kind of match are really painful, and doesn't matter if it was double or it was winner from him or mistake from me. In the end is the same. You lost the point.

Yeah, there, when the score was 5-All, we play long, long rally. It killed my breath. I couldn't breathe for a while. The 25 seconds was not enough. It was my mistake that I did not take time violation, because I was thinking that it's going to be second serve. And it was my mistake. I should take time violation, take more 30 seconds to play the point.

So now, I mean, we learn with our mistakes, so it's gonna give me a lot and it's great lesson, so we will see how I will use it in the future.

Q. Obviously looking a bit ahead already to Australia, I mean, it's sad that there should be about 25% of people coming into the stands when being there watching. Will this make it any easier for you? Because I could imagine this bubble stuff all the time could be pretty tough for you and all the players.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, for sure it will be amazing to play again with the audience, with spectators. Amazing feeling in the end. Three tournaments that I won this year, all of them were with spectators. Hamburg was with spectators, Vienna was spectators, and St. Petersburg also was spectators. So all the tournaments in the end were all of them were with spectators.

Of course they give energy, a lot of support, and it helps a lot. I don't know, when you play in front of people you start to play also better.

It's different atmosphere. So of course I'm really missing this feeling, and hopefully in the future, in the soon future again we are going to play in front of the crowd and we will enjoy.