WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 20, 2021

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/B. Paire

6-2, 3-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Playing Benoit Paire, I would think, is never an easy task. Obviously the three sets showed that. How do you counteract somebody like him? He can be so awkward and frustrating.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, it's always tough to play against Benoit. First of all, for me he's really talented and he can play really great tennis, so I knew before the match that, because this week he was really pumped, he beat so many great players, top players, so I knew that he will go full force today, as well. So I didn't need to expect that maybe he will get frustrated or something is not going to go well. I was ready for him to show his best level.

In the end, yeah, during the second set when he broke me, I think he release a lot and he was enjoying the atmosphere, enjoying the crowd, because he was going for the shots, doing serve and volley. He was serving really well.

In the end, it took me a really while, took me to be really positive and to don't show emotions, to be calm till the last moment, to take advantage back and to be able to broke him and to win the match.

Q. Two nontennis questions. The first one, what have you been able to do in Cincinnati during the week or few days that you have been there? Have you gone across the road to the amusement park? Do you like roller coasters? Do you try those sorts of things?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I do love roller coasters a lot, and I would love to go to the Kings Island. So we'll see. I mean, this is my fourth time, and I never had chance to go there. I never had one day off that I was able to go there. But I do love to go there, for sure.

Then, let me think. Most of the time was just restaurants. I went couple of times in the city to the restaurant. Then last couple of days I was having dinner nearer the hotel, because I was playing. I went indoor because of the rain to 5-star, something like a -- no, 5-star, I don't know, I don't remember exactly the name. Indoor center tennis (phonetic), some things like that.

Q. The other one I wanted to ask you, players and so many of us who travel on the tour have to be on long-haul flights for hours at times. What do you do on a long-haul flight? Do you just try and sleep the whole way? Do you bring your own food? Do you read a book, movies? What do you do?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Most of the times I'm trying, for example if I fly next day, I'm trying to don't really sleep like this. Normally I sleep during all the flight.

In case, if I'm not sleeping, normally I watch movie. There is, in the plane, there is a screen with the movies, so then I watch movie. In case if they don't have the screen and the flight is really long, then maybe I can do something on the computer, like music courses, something like that.

But this happen just only few times. The rest I was sleeping most of the time or watching a movie.

Q. When I say "music courses," as in you're learning to...

ANDREY RUBLEV: To create songs, yes, create full songs with MasterLink and everything, like a full track.

Q. Are you good at it?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No. I'm not even member, I think, not even member. I'm trying to get closer to the member level.

THE MODERATOR: Next match, facing Medvedev in the semifinal. Do you have any thoughts for the semifinal?

ANDREY RUBLEV: My good friend Daniil again.

I don't know. I'm happy to play against him, because it's a nice challenge for me to see what I need to improve, because always after I'm losing to him, I always improving more and more.

It's going to be close, be like chess match, long rallies, I need to fight for every ball. We'll see. It's going to be interesting. I hope it's going to be interesting tomorrow.