ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS

April 15, 2023

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/T. Fritz

5-7, 6-1, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. You were writing "I'm sorry" on the camera? What was the reason?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know. Because I didn't know what to wrote, and I wrote "I'm sorry" because I didn't know what to wrote.

I don't know. I had no ideas in my head at that moment. I didn't want to repeat the things that I was writing, so just wrote "I'm sorry," because I didn't know what to wrote.

Q. You're not sorry to be in the finals?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Of course not. No, I'm happy to be in the final (smiling).

Q. You had to suffer a lot to go in the final.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yes.

Q. A lot of breaks, a lot of times when you were up. Then you were down. What was your feelings when you were playing?

ANDREY RUBLEV: First set was tough, because when you are three times up with a break and you're losing your serve and then you're losing the set, you feel really, really mad. It was tough.

But then I start to think that conditions are really tough. Most of the breaks that I lost, Taylor played really aggressive. He returned very deep and not much I could -- I mean, for sure I could do something if served first serve, but I didn't make first serve. Then with the second he was putting a lot of pressure, or I remember I serve few times first serve, and he return winner.

So, yeah, and then I start to think the conditions is like this. I also broke him many times and I had chances, so just tried to keep playing. Then just try to focus on your serve even more.

Then I did this in the second set, and I was able to turn around the situation. Then the third set was the same story. He broke me, and I tried to think that it's conditions, I will have chances. I had chances before, I broke him in the second set many times, so I will have at least one chance to break him back. Then I broke him straightaway.

Then was rain delay, and after the rain delay, I think I was lucky that I won first two points. Then I start to feel he was really tight. It helped me a bit more. Also was the wind, a lot of wind. So it was not easy to serve for him.

So I was thinking, okay, this is the moment. It will be tough for him to serve, a lot of wind, so just take advantage if he's tight, and as soon as you have chance, go for it. In the end, I was able to break him.

Q. It will be your second final here. Can you say a little bit how you will approach it compared to last time?

ANDREY RUBLEV: To don't think. Just to do same thing like I did all the other days. Relax, do the treatment, have dinner, and that's it. Not even thinking that I'm having something tomorrow.

Q. You don't know yet who you will...

ANDREY RUBLEV: I hope they are going to be rain delay, I hope they are gonna play three sets, I hope they will rain-delay till tomorrow (smiling).

Q. Can you please say a word about both, how it would be if it's Sinner or if it's Holger?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Jannik, he's already one of the best players on tour, and he's playing really good this season. He play really easy and very, very aggressive. He knows how to defend really well, and he knows how to use it.

So as soon as he do a really good defense shot, if he have chance to attack, he attack really, really good. He's not missing at all.

Holger is the guy who runs a lot, and he runs really well. He read the game really well. He's very talented. He have a good touch. He doesn't give you any rhythm, because as soon as he have chance he try to do dropshots, he try to hit full power, go to the net, return and go to the net, then serve to the net.

He don't give you rhythm to put pressure on him to play your style. He's breaking your rhythm to don't like -- like this, you cannot put him your style, you know. In the end, the rallies are three, four shots because you cannot do anything because he go full power and he go to the net, and you need to take a risk to pass him, and at the net he's really good. So with him, you need really to pass these three, four shots to be able to give your rhythm and to dictate your style of the game.

Q. I saw a very interesting funny video of you and Grigor playing with wooden racquets. Most of us started playing tennis with wooden racquets. Could you tell us how it felt, what you couldn't do that you do with the usual racquets? Also talking about funny videos, the best one still is the one Daniil calling you Sinner because of the red hair.

ANDREY RUBLEV: It's not a video. It was in the locker room. So it's not a video. He say it in an interview. It's not a video. It just happen in the locker room at US Open.

Then about the wood racquet, I mean, it's tough to -- obviously with a normal racquet it's easier to spin and to hit the ball, but with the wood racquet it was tough to say something, because first of all the tension on that racquets, I don't know what it was, it's completely loose, so as soon as you touch the ball the balls were flying away.

With my racquet, I could do a bit spin. I don't know. I need at least one hour to play a bit, because when you have two minutes to warm up and you play tiebreak, it's tough to say. At least I was hitting middle of the racquet because the head size was really small and it was double longer, but I was able to hit clean.

Yeah, but the strings was, they were completely loose. You touch the ball and the ball fly to the sky.

Q. Normally players don't ever say who they would like to play the next round, because they say, Oh, if he won it's better. Can you try to be original and tell us that maybe who you would like better...

ANDREY RUBLEV: I told you, I would like not one of them. I would like to have rain delay, for them to play three hours, and to postpone match for the next day (smiling).

Q. So you're trying to escape?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No escape. No, totally honest. I prefer not to play one of them, and I will have to. But if you ask me, I prefer not to play one of them.

Q. You play against Struff, against Fritz, so not usual clay players. Do you like it or it's a new French tournament?

ANDREY RUBLEV: It's tough, because Struff and Fritz these kind of players who serve really well, and they like to play aggressive. With them, you have to be the one who -- so when I play with them, it's between us who will be the first one who start to hit.

It's a bit -- I don't like this. I prefer to have someone, when you know you have time, you can wait for the right moment because I have extra speed compared to some players, and I prefer, you know, wait for the moment.

With guys like Taylor or Struff, they don't give you any other option, because if you start to slow down, they will attack. They attack so good. You have to attack first as soon as you have chance. Sometimes it's also not easy, both for me or for them, because they feel the same.