MIAMI OPEN PRESENTED BY ITAú

March 29, 2021

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/M. Fucsovics

6-2, 6-1

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It looked like you were laughing as you were walking towards the net after that win. I don't know if Marton said something? You have played him so many times lately. Wondered what was going on there.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, I mean, I was laughing, I mean, because of a situation and plus Marton also tell me, like, I don't want to see you. I don't want to see you (smiling).

So just a situation that's fun, and I feel sorry (smiling).

Q. How are you feeling about your game here in Miami? Obviously you have played a lot of tennis lately. Do you feel like you're adjusting well to the conditions and everything?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, I'm playing well. I think the conditions here is pretty well for me. I mean, especially today I think the conditions help me a lot, because like I said before, Marton, he played a second round I think three hours something with Thanasi and they finish really late.

Conditions at night are way different than during the day. It's super slow. It's not that hot. During the day is much hotter and everything is much faster. It's tougher to move. I think it helped me.

Q. I've been talking to a few players about when they are planning on getting vaccines or if they are trying to get vaccines, if they are eager for as they are traveling. Where are you on that? Is it something you're trying to do fast or what's your attitude?

ANDREY RUBLEV: To be honest, me, no. I think few players already did it, I don't know who. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know.

I mean, it depends. I know for the moment now it doesn't really give you any privilege. You still have to be in the bubble. You still I think have to -- I don't know how is it with the travels, but you still have to be in the bubble. So it doesn't give you any privilege.

Me, if you ask me if I can choose and I can have option to don't have a vaccine, I will not do it.

Q. Why not? Why would you not want it?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know. There is no reason. Just -- I don't know. Just by the feelings, because I never have any vaccine since I was a kid, so I don't know.

They never put anyone -- I feel okay with this way. I never had any problems with my health. So we'll see. If I have option to don't do it, I prefer to don't do it.

Q. I just wanted to ask you about the rise of Russian men's tennis. Can you just talk about you and Daniil and how you guys are playing and what it means back home in Russia to have the two of you playing so well?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, I hope and I think for Russia is really good, because now the tennis is start to grow again. Is becoming more popular sport in Russia than it was, like, five years ago, let's say. Now it's becoming more like it was when Marat and Kafelnikov was playing. So it's nice feeling.

It's nice that some kids now they are more interesting, they want to play more by watching us. So I hope we can keep going in this way, and I hope we can bring it maybe up to the next level. We'll see.

Q. What's your relationship? Are you guys friends? Did you know each other from when you were little?

ANDREY RUBLEV: With who?

Q. With Daniil Medvedev.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, I mean, we know each other since we were, I think since I was six years old. We always have great connections. I mean, we never were like, let's say, best friends or something, but we always were having great connections. We could go somewhere to have a dinner or if we are in one team we always have fun together.

Yeah, like, yeah, so good connections, I think.

Q. I want to ask you about your next opponent, Marin Cilic. He's playing great. He won three matches in a row after a long time. You played even him here in Miami two years ago I think. How do you imagine the match against Marin?

ANDREY RUBLEV: It gonna be tough match, for sure, because I play him many times. We know each other really well, and all the matches were like a drama, was always mental things. So it's gonna be tough.

I mean, Marin have a really great serve, and from baseline he don't give you rhythm because he go for the shots. So it's not kind of player who stay on the baseline and he give you rhythm and play rallies. He's trying to break the rhythm.

So we'll see. I mean, I have to show my game. I have to be the one who is going to be dictating. We'll see what's gonna happen.

Q. In many press conferences you said that you're trying like to control your emotions on court. How you are working on that?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, I'm still far, far away from it (smiling). But, yeah, this is true. I want and I'm trying to control emotions.

I mean, there is not many secrets. I think already most of the players say them, I mean, most of the sportsmen say them. It's just to be, I don't know, just to focus. I mean, you know that when you show emotions it's not helping you, so why you need to show them? You know if you don't show them you have more chances to win.

I mean, it's simple and everyone understand this, but it's really tough to do and it takes time to break your own spirit, to change it, you know, because some people like me are more emotional than the others.

For me, it's tougher because I was always emotional. So for me I need to break everything in sight to change completely all the things I used to do before outside the court and try to do it also inside the court. So it's like a change a bit of my spirit, like from emotional to be more calm but in a way, like, let's say to control it. Because I still have to be emotional because when I put it in the right direction it's help me a lot. So it's long way, a long process that I hope I'm improving, and that's the next step.

Q. I remember you told me back in Austria last year you talked about how when you play, obviously you have a very aggressive game style for the most part, but when you play opponents who are maybe better defenders or they are more aggressive, you change it up. I think I heard you earlier, against a guy like Marin who has a lot of firepower, is your strategy going to be the one being aggressive and bringing the punches to him rather than letting him dictate?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, I think it's going to be, yes, like this, because Marin is also kind of player who is not really defending. He trying to be the one who is attacking. He's not really these kind of players who play crosscourt, stay there or something. He's the one who is always trying to change, trying to go for the shot.

So in these kind of players is, so it's going to be big winner who is going to do it first, me or him. It's more about this.

Q. If you play somebody like, I can't remember the last time you played a guy like Djokovic maybe who doesn't miss as much...

ANDREY RUBLEV: Well, Diego Schwartzman, that defense really well, he runs super fast, then you have to adapt. You cannot go for this because maybe you're going to miss more than you're going to make. So you need to wait for the right ball and then to start to play aggressive.

Q. Your best result in Masters 1000 was quarterfinal in Cincinnati two years ago. Do you think this is the best time to improve that result for your game?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know if it's the best time to improve the result of two years ago Cincinnati, but for sure it's best opportunity to try to go deep, to try to win more matches, to earn more points.

Because now, as I said before, I earn already maximum on 250s and 500s. So these points is not counting to me. Even if I do well is not counting to my ranking anymore. So the only chance to earn points is to go deep on the Masters, and in the end, we'll see if I can do it or not.

Like I said, doesn't matter. It's not about this week. Even if I don't do it here, in one week I have Monte-Carlo. If I don't do it in Monte-Carlo I still have Madrid, Rome, Roland Garros. So we will see which one is gonna be the week.

But of course this week is also great opportunity, every week is great opportunity. I'm gonna try to do best to go as deep as I can. I'm gonna give everything and we'll see if I can make it or not.

Q. Curious about Aslan Karatsev, if you either as a Russian guy or someone who has been around him understand how he's been able to change his results and his game so dramatically in such a short period of time? He was on tour for a long time at the challenger level without anything close to these results, and all of a sudden he's one of the best players in the world. Can you understand what's happened with him?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, in my opinion, I mean, first of all, he was always talented. Since he was a junior, he was always talented. He always have nice touch. He was feeling the ball.

I think in my opinion, I don't know, because we never were so close. We know each other, but we never been so close. We never talk about these things. I think maybe, I mean, I heard on interviews he said he was injured for quite lot. But I think this was the reason plus maybe he was not working enough in the right direction that also didn't allow him to be at the level where he is today.

I think he change a lot. One year and a half ago I think he change a lot. He changed the way he's practicing. He changed the way he's warming up, and he changed everything. He start to be much, much more professional because mentality he was always quite strong. He always like he don't really show emotions. He's always trying to be positive, and it's helping him a lot.

Already last year I think when we start to play after the pandemic, you can see already he was playing really well. He wins like a couple of challengers and he get finals, and then when I see him in St. Petersburg, he was playing already really great tennis.

It was just matter of time, and in the end, since the beginning of the season, he start to show incredible tennis. But he was showing this tennis already even last year. When I saw him last year, I was not -- now that I see what he's doing is not really surprising me, because I saw this in the end of last year and I was surprised at that time the way he was playing. So I was thinking just matter of time.

Q. Until today you played always a really big and tight match against Marton, even in Davis Cup in Budapest, Rotterdam, Dubai. But today was a really different match. What do you think? You played so much better or he had a bad day?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, you're right. We always have really tough matches since we meet first time 2017 Davis Cup in Budapest. Actually, no, I meet him first time before, Barcelona 2016, and we also played three sets first-round quallies, something like 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the third, also three hours, something.

Yeah, I think it was all the details, like I was playing really well plus, like I said, I think that he played second round three hours against Thanasi Kokkinakis at night helped me a lot because they finished really late, and at night the conditions are way different. It's super slow. Is not that hot. It's so tough to hit winner there. Everything is much slower.

When you go during the day, it's hot. Everything much faster. It's tougher to move because of the heat. Your legs are a bit more, not that fresh, I don't know, and I think everything went together and was everything on my side today.

Q. After the match he told me he had the feeling even if you play with your left hand that he could win the match.

ANDREY RUBLEV: You know that he make fun. I don't know what to say, because it's just a joke (smiling).

Q. Was it asked about your next match, Marin Cilic?

ANDREY RUBLEV: They did, but I can answer one more time. I mean, as I said, I know Marin for long, and he knows me as well. It's gonna be a really tough match because we play a couple of times and all of them were really tough. Always was mental match, always were dramatic a bit match.

And the way he play, he serve really well. He don't give you rhythm from baseline because he try to go for the shots. So it's gonna be a tough match that I need to bring good level, and I need to be the one who is going to dictating first one.