THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 5, 2021

Marton Fucsovics

Press Conference

M. FUCSOVICS/A. Rublev

6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-0, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. It's been no secret in the past nine or so months your little rivalry with Andrey. So heading into the match and then falling behind in the match, does it almost make it even sweeter that you have just earned the biggest win of your career and against someone who you've had such struggles with recently?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: I was not thinking about the previous matches. This one was a different match. We played on grass. I really like the surface. I think my game fits the surface very well.

I think Andrey's game is not the best on grass, so I just was focusing on the next points. I took my chances. I didn't give up. Then that was the key.

Q. You have a very easy match coming up against your next opponent (laughter). How would you describe what it's like to face Novak and what you have learned from the opportunity before?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: Well, I played him couple of times. Obviously he is one of the greatest players. He won this tournament so many times.

He's very solid, very consistent from the baseline. He's playing one of his best tennis. He won the French Open lately, and now he's playing really good.

This is the first time I reach the quarterfinal in a Grand Slam, so I just want to go on the court. Hopefully I get to play on the Centre Court, and I want to enjoy every moment of it.

Q. A few minutes ago, Novak talked about how some people do call him either the greatest player of all time or soon to be the greatest player of all time. What do you consider to be his place in history? How does that affect your thinking when you step on the court?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: I think the big three, I'm talking about Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, I think they are the greatest of all time, all of them, all three of them. For me there is no difference between them.

But when I play against these guys, of course it's a pleasure for me. But they bring out the best of me, and I think I can improve my game when I play against them. I really enjoy to play against them.

Q. The first Hungarian man in 30 years to make a slam quarterfinal. Can you just explain how big this will be back in Hungary? Will it be big news tonight, or do you expect it will take a while to start to become known?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: I think I will become famous now in Hungary. Yeah, it's a big thing, huge thing. But for the moment I'm not thinking about what will happen in Hungary, if I will be in the news or if people will talk about me.

I think I learn that I have to stay on the ground, and I just have to focus on the next match, to focus on my job, not anything besides tennis.

I think I became very professional in these things.

Q. Something you have sort of become known for is I guess you could say your physique and how strong you are, and no matter how the long the matches go all throughout the year, you are always there till the end. What do you think your biggest weapon is going to be against Novak? Is it that sort of your fighting spirit and physicality? What do you think?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: Yeah, I worked very hard for it. I wasn't born like this. I was working every day to get this physiques.

Against Novak, against the top guys, there is not really -- you cannot tell the winning strategy. As I said, I will go out there and try to enjoy every moment, fight for every point. That will be most important.

I think my serve improved a lot during the tournament. This will be also a key.

Q. Going back to the match today, at what point did you sort of feel the match turn? Obviously you won nine games in a row, but what was it about the match that you felt turned around?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: From the beginning, I had a very good feeling on the court. I was serving well. I was moving very well. I hit the ball very well. I hit a lot of winners. So I was very confident.

In the second and third set, I had some unlucky service games where Andrey made very good returns, but then I took a toilet break and I calmed down a little bit. When I step on the court again, I was very relaxed. I started to serve unbelievable. Big serves, aces. There I felt that when I broke him that I have good chance to turn this around.

Q. You were speaking a lot about Novak and the three of them as a whole. When you look at Novak's game, what do you think about his tennis itself do people not realize it's so difficult for people to play against?

MARTON FUCSOVICS: Yeah, maybe his game is not so entertaining like Federer's or when Nadal is hitting the ball so hard, and actually, I like to play against him. I can rally with him.

Okay, I played him two times, he beat me, but I like the way he plays. I think we play the same kind of tennis. We like to rally. We like to play long rallies and try to play aggressive from the baseline. Yeah, he's playing good.