ROLEX MONTE-CARLO MASTERS

April 16, 2023

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/H. Rune

5-7, 6-2, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Congrats, Andrey. How does it feel to be a Masters 1000 champion?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Great. Great feeling. Like I was saying after struggling so much, so many times, losing in the finals, semifinals, losing even earlier, yeah, struggled so much to win first 1000 Masters and finally I did it. I did it in Monaco with the really historic tournament.

It's a pleasure to be part of it. To win match like this, losing 4-1, Love-30, breakpoint for 5-1, and to be able to come back and to win a match is like a fairy tale today, yeah.

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. You talked about it, 4-1, Love-30, you're touching your back.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yes, I start to feel maybe spasm in my lower back. But then I start to say to myself, As more you think, is worse there is, because mental part works very well. More you start to think about the problem, looks like it's double bigger. So I start to try to calm down myself and to don't pay attention. Then the spasm then went more, was nothing special.

Q. Before your first match point, what went through your mind?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Before my first match point, I was thinking how weird that it's 40-Love, first of all (smiling), and then I was thinking, just go for it. Don't think. Just go for it. That's it.

Q. At one point in your career did you think I will never get it, or you're too young for that?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No, I was never thinking that way. I was thinking that if I do the things right outside the court, practicing-wise, I will have chances to win, yeah, the big titles.

The thing is I didn't know when it's gonna happen, this year, last year, two years ago, because I played two finals before, I played couple of times semifinal, and I couldn't make it. In the end, happens here.

I didn't really expect that I'm gonna win the title before week, but then match by match I started to win, and then, yeah, then somehow I end up winning.

Q. The crowd seemed to be warming up to you, seemed to get you know better. You're getting the reputation of being a good guy amongst the aficionados and the tennis fans. Do you realize? Because we have been seeing you here and watching you here during the week people chanting your name and everything. How do you view that relationship you have with the public?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know, to be honest (smiling). First of all, I don't know if I'm good or not, because no one is perfect. Yeah, and I was saying -- no, I didn't say actually. I kind of wrote it one time and probably can say that in my life I was doing many mistakes, I was hurting many people, my family, the loved ones. Yeah, so I'm not good or I'm not bad, I guess, but to have this support, it means that for sure I can be a better person and I can work on it and I can improve and to try to share it with others.

To have this support, I feel really, really grateful, because, I don't know, it's not easy to get support in general. To get a good support is really tough.

I'm really grateful for this, that I'm having this support and I had this support this week, previous weeks, and I start to feel it more and more. I'm just grateful, and I want to thank every single person.

Q. Good or bad person, you were shy at the beginning when you came to the press rooms. Did Vincente, your coach who is very funny, guy who always makes jokes, help you to become more extroverted and to talk with us?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I would say for sure he make a huge effort on me, like that I'm open like this, but, I mean, he didn't work with me to work on press or something. I just learn from him basically to be open, to be yourself.

That's the most important thing. Doesn't matter where you are or what are you doing. Just to be yourself. Of course in the beginning, it was something new and I was shy. I was, like, I don't want to be open, because, I don't know, I don't know if someone gonna like me or not.

And with Fer, I realize the best is just to be yourself. Doesn't matter if someone doesn't like you, at least you're yourself. And if someone like you, at least you're yourself.

Q. Today, 19 breakpoints, you made 6 breaks. How difficult was it? How stressful to play those important points all the time? And then one minute ago you said finally I made a 1000. Is now the next dream is to win a slam?

ANDREY RUBLEV: In that moments, I mean, like every match when you have breakpoint, if you too much pressure, you feel stress, you want to make it yes or yes, or it's like I prefer to do break now and then to feel a bit more advantage.

Like every match, sometimes you make it straightaway. Sometimes it takes time. But today I handle my emotions really well.

Answering second question, I don't know. I mean, the goal is still the same. Like I was saying before Monte-Carlo, I was saying that I feel that I'm doing really good things outside the court on practices. I like how I'm working now with my new team fitness-wise, treatment-wise, tennis-wise, mental-wise. I feel that this is the right way.

I feel that I can improve a lot. I feel that on practices I'm doing this. The thing is like I don't know when and where it will appear also on the tournaments. In the end, I win this title. The goal is still the same: to work hard in this right direction that I'm doing now and to try to improve as much as I can while I have this time.

Q. About your new team, can you talk a little bit about what Alberto brings to the team? If I'm not wrong, he's helping you a bit on the mental part also?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah. Alberto, I mean, first of all, he's a very humble and really nice guy. They are good friends with Fernando, so it's really, really nice to work with them, because both of them are super humble.

For me is important to have connection outside the tennis, to be able to work, because it doesn't matter how good is the coach, but outside the court we have no connection, I'm not this kind of person who will keep still working. Because you don't really find -- it's like, in the end, like a girlfriend. You don't find often this connection, you know. It happens once in a while (smiling).

Here is the same, and I have this connection. I'm really grateful for it, and they see the things similar. That's also really good. Yeah, because Berto, he had diploma, sports psychologist, so he can explain some things in the more easier way in some stress moments, and it's helping also a lot.

Then I have a new fitness coach, new physio, new agent. So completely upgrade. Only Fernando is still the main one who was since the beginning.