Andrey Rublev has given an unusual assessment of his upcoming ATP Finals matches against Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev as he compared facing them to being “killed”. The world No 5 will open his campaign against Medvedev on Monday but also has Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in his round-robin group.
Rublev is coming into his fourth ATP Finals full of form, winning 11 of his last 14 matches. The 26-year-old recently reached his fourth Masters 1000 final in Shanghai and followed it up with back-to-back semi-final appearances in Vienna and Paris.
He will now be hoping to carry his momentum into Turin, where he reached the semi-final stage 12 months ago. But he will have a tough task trying to get out of the group stage as he faces Medvedev in his opening match with Alcaraz also looming. While Rublev has never faced the two-time Grand Slam champion, he knows Medvedev very well both on and off the court.
The pair are good friends, with Rublev being the godfather to Medvedev’s daughter Alisa, and they have also played eight times in the past. And Rublev had an amusing explanation for what it was like to take on his compatriot on the match court. “It’s like, when someone kills you slowly you know,” he told the ATP, laughing.
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“You feel it, that you are dying.” While he is yet to meet Alcaraz on the match court, Rublev still had an idea of what it would feel like in comparison to playing Medvedev. He added: “Not if Alcaraz kills you first and sometimes you don’t notice. With Medvedev, he’s killing you slowly. Taking his time. Enjoying the moment and you feel like you are dying, little by little.”
Rublev will finally get a chance to compete against Alcaraz during the round-robin stage this week, where he can put his unique theory to the test. The world No 5 also had some regular analysis on the Spaniard’s game, claiming he could do it all.
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“He knows everything. He runs like crazy. He hit backhand, forehand, drop shots, volleys, serve, mental part,” the Russian explained. “He fights. He’s a completely complete player at his young age. To have a chance against him you need to play at a really good level.”
As for Zverev – the fourth member of the Red Group – Rublev said he was “the player you don’t want to face.” Elaborating, he added: “The way he serves, the way he plays. You need to be super focused, because if not, then he hits ace, ace, good return, and the match is done.”
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