AUSTRALIAN OPEN

February 9, 2021

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/Y. Hanfmann

6-3, 6-3, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you talk us through your match and how you were feeling on the court today?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I was a bit nervous because it's first match of Grand Slam of the year, so I start a bit tight. But anyway, I could come back really fast and I start to control the match already almost in the middle of the set I was already controlling the match, so I'm really happy with this and in the end until the end of the match I was controlling the match, so in the end I'm really happy that I could finish the match quite confident and in straight sets and that's what I need for the first match to get confidence, to get this feeling to don't stay long on court, to save energy.

Q. So you came from playing ATP Cup and straight at that into a Grand Slam. Is it much of an adjustment going from best-of-three to best-of-five?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, not really. I like to play best-of-five. For me it's more easy to transfer from best-of-three to best-of-five then, for example, to go straight after the Grand Slam to play normal ATP tournament, this is a little bit tougher because you feel like have you less time, everything goes so fast because you start to get used to the format, best-of-five and, yeah, so for me to start to play best-of-five is more easy because I feel like I have more time, so I normally even if something goes wrong I still have enough time to come back and to turn to my side the match.

In general, yeah, because of the ATP Cup, so I adapt to the courts really fast, so I'm already here feeling good.

Q. Tell us how has been your developing in tennis working with Fernando Vicente.

ANDREY RUBLEV: We're working with him already almost five years I think, something like that. I mean he teach me basically everything. Because when I came I was, I think I was talented, but I was a bit crazy. I was working hard but I was not working in the right way. He is like, he teach me everything since the beginning how to play, how to see the court, what to do, it's like that he teach me that tennis is not only about shots it's about rallies, it's about to see the court, to see what's happening around so and that's -- plus of course on top of that we were working hard improving my body, doing everything for me to be stronger.

Q. How has work on your physical, knowing that today that you played strong with the serve play?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't understand.

Q. How has work your physical, knowing that today players are very strong?

ANDREY RUBLEV: You mean players very strong shooting or very strong?

Q. Yeah. Yeah.

ANDREY RUBLEV: And that's why I need to work hard physically to be able to catch these balls. But it's not about even the players who shoot hard, with them I feel comfortable, it's more about with the players who play long rallies, like Medvedev, like Schwartzman, like Djokovic, like Rafa, because to play against them you need to show your best level for three, five hours and that's why you have to be physically strong to be able to keep this level for a long distance. So it's more about this, because many players can play one set amazing but then after one hour and a half or something, they are dropping the level.