Andrey Rublev makes brutally honest confession as he reaches Madrid Open final
Andrey Rublev has admitted he was ‘super tight’ as he moved into another ATP 1000 final with a victory against Taylor Fritz at the Madrid Open.
The Russian sealed a 6-4, 6-3 to reach his fifth Masters 1000 final and while it appeared to be a routine win, Rublev admitted the tension of the match was getting to him as he closed out the first set.
After a woeful run of form that followed his disqualification from the Dubai Open tournament at the start of March, Rublev would have headed into this tournament in Madrid with low expectations, but he is now the strong favourite to lift the title.
Rublev beat an ailing Carlos Alcaraz in his last match and that opened the door for him to challenge for another ATP 1000 title, with the expectation he was feeling heading into the match against Fritz.
With Jannik Sinner also out after suffering from a hip injury and his Russian compatriot Daniil Medvedev also withdrawing from the tournament due to a right leg problem, Rublev is the highest-ranked player left in the draw.
So the pressure was piled onto him as he went into the match against Fritz and that may explain why he let out a raucous scream of joy after he won the first set and set himself on his way to victory.
“I was super tight, super nervous,” Rublev told Sky Sports.
“Since the beginning of the match, I had too much emotion and too many things in my head. At the end of the first set, I let it out.”
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Rublev told Tennis365 last December that he was seeing a psychologist to deal with his anger management on court and he believes he is finding a way to stay calm.
“Mentally I’ve been feeling much better,” he stated. “I was able to perform putting emotions in the right direction. It helped me to be in the final. Without this, I wouldn’t be in the final.”
Rublev also downplayed the theory that the Madrid Open is his to lose, as he headed into the semi-finals as the favourite to take the title.
“I’m not looking at it this way,” he added. “I know Felix (Auger-Aliassime) used to be top 10.
“He didn’t play for a while last year. He’s now playing better and better. We played at the start of the season. I saved I don’t know how many match points. He almost beat me. In previous matches he beat me as well.
“Then (Jiri) Lehecka beat me in the last match we played at Indian Wells he destroyed me in 2 sets without a chance. I never look at the ranking because I know the guys and how they play. To judge by the ranking in tennis doesn’t work.”
Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup captain Anne Keoathavong is working for Sky Sports in Madrid, as she suggested Rublev’s slow start was evidence of his tension.
“It was a very shaky start from Rublev, being broken in his opening game,” she reflected. “It was an epic game, but they exchanged the breaks of service at the start and Rublev just didn’t back off.
“He looked the more confident of the two and he kept Taylor Fritz on the move. He maintained his intensity level and maintained his calmness out there. In every department, he just looked like the stronger of the two.”
