ROLAND GARROS

May 29, 2024

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A RUBLEV/P. Martinez

6-3, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How it is to prepare yourself to play on matches like this? I mean, you had the roof and everything, but waiting, raining, not knowing what's going to happen, does that affect you at all when you prepare yourself for matches?

ANDREY RUBLEV: In my case, no, because they put me on Suzanne-Lenglen Court, so I knew that my court would be without any delay, raining delay. So I was completely calm.

Sometimes, yeah, it happens because of the rain, you never know. You have to maybe wait, then wait all day at the club, and then maybe they cancel. It happens a few times to me.

I mean, you cannot adapt. It's just part of the sport. There's nothing you can do.

Q. Do you guys, the players, talk in an organized fashion to the event organizers about finding certain solutions to prevent rain delays, to cover courts in some, let's say, more affordable, quicker to fix, cheaper ways because this is very bad for the fans, for the media, for the players, for everybody.

ANDREY RUBLEV: Of course, it's not good. Yeah, like you say, it's bad, especially for spectators maybe who came only for one day to see the players and because of the rain, they cannot. At least now they start to have some courts that covered, like here.

I think all the slams now, the big courts at least they are able to cover. Not like before. Maybe there could be one day no matches at all. So at least it's something.

Here at least -- I don't know if Australian, US Open they have it, but at least Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the outside courts, they cover them straight away as soon as there's a little bit of rain. So at least in this case if the rain stops, they just need to uncover, and you are ready to play because there are some tournaments that they are not covering the courts and then there is a full of water.

Even if the rain stops, they still need to dry it, and it takes time. Maybe extra one hour or something like that. Then my feeling is that it's even worse because when you cover, you just uncover, and you can go and play.

But, I mean, it's not good at all for sure for spectators, but if we want to see tennis on outside, not indoor, you have to understand that sometimes it will happen. I don't know if there's possibility to have a roof on each court on each tournament that will cover also so that spectators will not get wet.

I don't know. It's more question to the organizations who organize each tournament because each tournament is different owners, and it's more question to them if they are willing and they are able to have that much of expenses to build that much roofs and stuff like that.

Q. Can I ask how much tennis you like to watch in your spare time? Do you like to separate and switch off, or are you someone who is kind of watching all the time?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No, I don't think that I'm kind of a guy who watch tennis, but in general, I'm not that kind of a guy who watch any sports. I don't really watch any sport.

Tennis I can watch sometimes when it's really interesting match, or if I'm playing against someone and I need to study them some things, then I can watch it. It's more only if I have a reason to watch.

If there's no reason, normally I don't watch tennis. I don't watch any sport. Only if there is something big like World Cup and I'm there and it's in front of me, then I watch.

Q. Why is that? Is that just --

ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know. I'm very, very relaxed with other sports. I'm not really following any team or something.

Q. Is that the same with tennis? You're kind of relaxed with it?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah. I mean, tennis I'm a player, so I don't need to follow someone. I need to focus on myself.

But with some team sports I do have friends, professional athletes, so I like to support them. So if there's possibility that they invite me for a game or something, I'm more than happy to come and watch it live and to support them, but I'm super relaxed outside of that. I'm not really -- I don't have favorite team. I don't follow.

I know even my friends from -- other tennis players, they follow the leagues, or they are really watching statistics and stuff like that, and they are really into it. Me, I'm super relaxed with this.