US OPEN

September 4, 2023

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/J. Draper

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

THE MODERATOR: Andrey, four sets, a little under three hours. Are you satisfied with where your game is now as you go into the second week?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't want to think about my game, to be honest, because, I don't know, I feel I'm playing well, and that's the most important thing. That's why I don't want to pay attention to the game and to put extra pressure on me. Because, yeah, I feel the ball well. I played good match today.

It's just to do some...

THE MODERATOR: Were you pleased with the match today?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, I played really good level. So it's just to take some notes from today's match and to improve and be better for the next one.

But in terms of game, yeah, I played really good match today.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. You've always seemed like a reasonable person, reflective. On the court you can come off as completely tortured. There were a few of those moments today. Talk about that split personality a little bit.

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, it's not easy (smiling). When you're playing the match and you feel that you're playing really well and everything is under control, you feel like, I don't know, that you're better. You feel that the guy, he cannot do many things because from baseline you're winning more rallies and stuff like that.

Then you have couple opportunities to break, to have earlier break, and there were some easy shots that I didn't went that much. I was thinking it's going to be enough to win the rally. In the end, it's end up that I lost the game. I get, I don't know, mad with myself, that I didn't try better, that I didn't try 100%. I was thinking it's going to be enough to play this way, and it was not.

I think I did only two double-faults in all the match, and the two double-faults I did was on my serve, and I lost my serve. It looks like out of nowhere I lost, like, advantage, and then I start to blame myself. I start - like you said - to go crazy.

Yeah, in the third set I start to listen to my team and I start to also realize that, yeah, I was doing everything right. I was playing well, I had everything under control. I just need to get back to that mood.

In the end I was able to do it. I was, yeah, able to break back and to win the third set. Then Jack, he went a bit down physically, and it give me extra, like, motivation to try to go over and to finish the match.

Q. Those moments sometimes can help you?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No. I mean, I lost set and was losing break. Obviously it's not helping.

Q. You are still young. You have at least 10 years of your career ahead of you. When you follow the younger kids like Shelton, who served 149 miles an hour, do you think guys of your age should make certain adjustments to your game?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know, to be honest, because guys like Shelton, there's one, two players with that power of the serve. I was very impressed when I saw it.

But I knew since he started to play on tour that he have amazing serve. It's one of his main weapons. I don't know, you always have those players. Nick Kyrgios, for example, Isner, Raonic, who serve huge. Obviously with those players, you need to have super focus, especially on your serve, then to wait for your moment on return.

In the end, when you have long matches, it's impossible to serve all the time this speed. There will be one moment maybe on the tiebreak, one time or something, and you have to wait for those moments.

But it's not easy. When you have this weapon, with the serve, the life is much easier.

Q. Guys like de Minaur who actually plays off the baseline, he doesn't go far away, he meets the ball on the bounce. It's riskier, but he handles it really well. Do you ever consider to make these kinds of changes in your game? You don't play off the bounce frequently.

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, we have a bit different style of the game with Alex because Alex have amazing legs. He's using his legs to get the ball earlier and to take it more on the rise. That's how he create the power. Plus he play quite flat.

I mean, he can change. With the forehand he can play with the spin, then he can go flat with the backhand. He have really quite flat shots. He use even his legs more to generate power. He have, like I said, amazing legs.

In my case, the game is a bit different. I have fast arms and I have power, natural power, by myself. I have not that fast legs to play this kind of style of the game. If I have to play this style of the game, I need to slow down with my arms because then there will be no control, there will be too much power.

Now I'm running better and I can defends better, and I win some rallies without going for that crazy extra power, just playing middle speed and having one extra speed that I can add if I need to.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your friendship with Daniil Medvedev, the good nature back and forth. If I remember correctly at Laver Cup, when you guys won in Boston, he was mocking you a little bit.

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, I think it's something already like a family because I'm godfather of his daughter. So it's become a bit...

Obviously we build our relationship because of tennis, but now it's already bigger than tennis. We know each other, I don't know, since we were six maybe or something.

I don't know. We have great relationship. He's super honest, super relaxed. It's super easy to communicate with him. Very humble.

In the same time he's really, really funny. Then when you spend time with him, you always have fun.