Andrey Rublev asked if he is ‘GUILTY’ for being a Russian as Wimbledon press makes things awkward

The Russian was faced with some distasteful questions about his opinion on the Russia-Ukraine war

Andrey Rublev asked if he is ‘GUILTY’ for being a Russian as Wimbledon press makes things awkward

Andrey Rublev (Credits: @Wimbledon Twitter)

World no. 7 Russian player Andrey Rublev yesterday became the 33rd man in a row to try to defeat Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon and end up losing. As is now almost custom at the prestigious major looking at past incidents, the Russian too, was bombarded with distasteful questions about his opinion on the Russia-Ukraine war.

On being asked whether he feels guilty for receiving support from the Wimbledon crowd in spite of being from Russia, Rublev replied, “It’s not guilty. It’s more just that the situation is terrible. Of course, you don’t wish this on anyone. You want these terrible things to be able to finish as fast as possible for all the people in the world to have a chance to have a good life.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvNNQFczuAM

Rublev, along with other Russian and Belarusian players, was banned from competing at Wimbledon 2022 because of the countries’ involvement in the Russia-Ukraine war. However, things have returned to normal this year since the LTA was fined last year by the ATP and WTA over their stance. As penalty, ranking points too were taken away from the Major, turning it into the grandest exhibition tournament ever.

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Also read: Novak Djokovic calls himself the favorite to win the 2023 Wimbledon following his win over Andrey Rublev

Rublev thanked the Wimbledon Crowd for supporting him in quarterfinal against Djokovic

Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev (Credits: Wimbledon)

In spite of his failed bid to upset the reigning champion, Rublev felt positive about his performance and thanked the Wimbledon crowd for their immense support at his post-match press conference. He said,“Being here this year, I felt grateful. I felt really great support during these two weeks. Today, as well. Is like I was saying, to be from the country where I am, to have this support, it’s special.”

Rublev sheepishly admitted that he believes he is shown more support than he deserves. “I don’t know, I feel sometimes I don’t deserve it or something like that. I don’t know what you need to do to have this support. I’m really grateful for this.”

Having defeated Rublev in 4 tight sets, Novak Djokovic continues to stay in contention for a fifth consecutive title at Wimbledon and eighth title overall, matching two of Roger Federer’s records. He will face 8th seed Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.

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