Andrey Rublev makes honest Novak Djokovic confession as he targets mindset change in 2024
Andrey Rublev believes he has just pieced together the best year of his career, but he admits he is still not good enough to match the best players in the game.
Speaking to Tennis365 at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown Grand Final in London, the world No 5 was in an honest mood as he reflected on a season that saw him win his first ATP 1000 title in Monte Carlo, but come up short in the Grand Slam against the game’s ultimate champions.
Incredible moment! 😶
After several minutes of confusion over a misunderstanding about the announcement of a 3-point card, Rublo goes to the referee to make it clear that he wants to use it again 😬 #UTSLondon #UTSGrandFinal pic.twitter.com/iLJ8Qk1Adq
— UTS Tour – London (Dec15-17) (@uts_tour_) December 17, 2023
Rublev has lost the first eight Grand Slam quarter-finals of his career, a record worse than any other player and he admits there is a simple reason why he continues to come up short.
“They are better than me in the big moments, that’s all I can say,” confessed Rublev when asked if he was close to Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the game.
“You can find reasons why this is not the case, but the results show that on the big monents, these guys are just better than everyone else and those big moments decide the big matches.
“Can I get to a Grand Slam final next year? If there is an option to sign for this right now, tell me where I need to write.
“Obviously, I wish for that. Let’s see if it can happen. In the end, at the big moments, the other guys are better and that is what I need to improve.
“The aim is to improve all these weaknesses that I am still having on the court. There is so much I can still work on.
