Andrey Rublev Reveals His Boyhood Dream of Beating Rafael Nadal After Monte-Carlo Masters 2021 Win

After claiming one of his most prized wins against Rafael Nadal at the Monte-Carlo Masters on Friday, Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev revealed that it’s been a long-held dream of his to put one past the superstar Spaniard.

Turning the screws on a strangely off-color Nadal, the 23-year-old beat the 11-time Monte-Carlo champion in a marathon three-setter, a good part of which was played under lights.

What stood out in his win was the way he survived a mid-match resurgence from Nadal and recovered from losing the second set to record one of the biggest wins of his career.

Always imagined beating Rafael Nadal as a kid: Andrey Rublev

Speaking to reporters after the match, Rublev said the winning moment in the Principality was one that he had played over and over in his head in his early teens.

He revealed that as a child, all that he had ever dreamt of was to be a professional tennis player, with no “plan B or Plan C” in his head.

The current World No.8 said that as the desire to become a tennis pro grew, he thought to himself that when he is in his twenties and playing tennis, Nadal would still be out there competing.

“In my head was ‘Okay, I’m gonna be 22 or something, Rafa would still be 30 something. So, for sure he will still play tennis,” Rublev said.

He added that he had always imagined beating Nadal before the Spaniard bids adieu to tennis.

“I imagined that we’re gonna meet before he will finish career and of course in my head I was imagining that it will be great to have (a) chance to beat him,” the Russian said.

Nadal critical of his poor service game after going down

However, he was quick to add that those were his ideas “as a kid” and he could never have imagined that there will truly come a day when he would be meeting the press after beating Nadal.

The Spaniard, on his part, was brutal in his assessment of his own game, especially his serves, after making back-to-back exits from the tournament.

Read More: “My Serve Was a Disaster”: Rafael Nadal Evaluates His Loss to Andrey Rublev at Monte-Carlo Masters 2021

He lost in the semi-final in 2019 to eventual champion Fabio Fognini.