Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev has been in sublime form of late in his relatively short professional career. Sharing the best moments from his career the young Russian made it clear that defeating Roger Federer in 2019 was probably one of the best moments for him.
The 23-year-old reminisced that he was shocked after the last point and failed to believe that he had beaten Federer. He also added how graceful and grounded was the Swiss legend even in defeat. His traits from the match and also after losing had an impact on Rublev as a youngster.
In 2019 it was the first time Roger Federer failed to reach the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open since 2008. Rublev who was a qualifier in that event was the man who stopped him from doing so. The Russian won 6-3,6-4 and finished the match in only 61 minutes. He outplayed the Swiss legend in almost every department in a shocking turn of events.
Rublev had a rough 2018 with back injuries keeping him out of the court for a couple of months and he lost his form and a lot of ranking points. So the Cincinnati Open was his first Masters 1000 quarter-final that year. So for someone coming back from his injury to beat Federer in that fashion was a big moment in the 23-year-old’s career. It gave him a great morale boost at that time to continue the hard work.
Rublev dominated the match right from the start and he did not allow Federer to settle at his desired pace. The Russian was great in defending his breakpoints and was really good with his winners. He wrapped up the first set within 28 minutes! The Swiss legend’s struggle with adjusting to the pace of the game continued as he could only manage to take four points in Rublev’s games in the second set and as a result, drifting away from break chances and playing under pressure.
Rublev wrapped the second set in no time and then he described how he was in shock to defeat someone as great as Roger Federer. He said, “I was in a state of shock when I beat Roger, but also because I put myself in his place and imagined the harshness of that defeat for him. Players from the top have to endure so much pressure because they can’t lose and decrease themselves in the media.”
He reveals how it is an added pressure on the big players to reach the last stages of the events or else they are criticised. He also added how that victory changed his game as he watched how graceful Federer was in accepting the defeat.
“The top players have to reach at least the final in every tournament. Roger has been doing it for many years. He impacted me even more than my victory; his behaviour, his attitude, and the way he accepted it. I felt like I have beaten a true legend,” Andrey Rublev said.
