Might have qualified for the semifinals if I would have won against Tsitsipas: Andrey Rublev reflects on his ATP Finals performance


Might have qualified for the semifinals if I would have won against Tsitsipas: Andrey Rublev reflects on his ATP Finals performance
Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev is one of the rising stars in tennis. The Russian just finished a tremendous 2020 season, where he won an incredible 5 ATP titles which helped him qualify for his maiden ATP Finals in London. Rublev has been on a steady rise ever since his debut.

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At the season-ending Finals, Rublev was grouped with Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas. He lost his opening match to Nadal and came close to winning against Tsitsipas but failed to close the deal. He ended his campaign with a swansong win against Thiem, but that was not enough for Rublev to qualify for semifinals.

One point was not enough: Rublev

Rublev ends his journey at group stages

Rublev looked back at his Finals journey and said,As a result, one point was not enough for me. If I had won that match against Tsitsipas, then maybe I would have made it to the semifinals. True, no one knows how it would have developed then. But if you look superficially, then one point was not enough before.”

The Russian came very close to winning his match Tsitsipas, only going down to defeat in the third set tiebreaker.

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The Russian also analyzed his first match defeat against Nadal. Rublev stated, “In the match with Nadal, I again could not cope with the pressure. I understood that I was having a good season and that I had a good level of play. I wanted to show that I am ready to fight with players like Nadal. He was overwhelmed, reconfigured and could not cope with the pressure. This is the case when you really want to, but in the end here.”

Despite a below-par showing at London, Rublev ended 2020 on a high as has climbed to World No.8 and looked like a tough competition to far superior and experienced opponents. It will surely be a treat to watch him at the next year’s Australian Open.

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