A Grand Slam is one of those prestigious tennis events that every player dreams of winning at least once in their careers. However, some have the misfortune of getting stuck in one round, unable to move past. Andrey Rublev, who has played in slams since 2015, is one such player. He has reached the quarterfinal nine times in all slams, but no further.
Coming into the Australian Open, fans hope to see him break his bad luck and move further ahead. However, the player himself gave a rather different prophecy. This time, he doesn’t believe he will land in the quarterfinal altogether.
Andrey Rublev breaks past saddening prophecy
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Andrey Rublev is currently ranked 5 in the ATP. The Russian player did not relent in the entire tournament but faced a difficult time against Alex De Minaur, who had the home advantage. Rublev won the first set but would have to relent to Minaur in sets 2 and 3. However, the Russian star managed to find his second wind. He went on to defeat De Minaur in sets 4 and 5, effectively sealing his comeback.
Andrey Rublev was asked in press earlier during this #AusOpen if he would finally win a Slam quarterfinal (0-9) to break his “curse.”
“Maybe I’m going to break it in the opposite way,” Rublev said, smiling, “not even to arrive.”
— Ben Rothenberg (@BenRothenberg) January 21, 2024
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Ben Rothenberg, a renowned tennis journalist, shared comments of Rublev in an interview with the Australian Open press, “Andrey Rublev was asked in press earlier during this #AusOpen if he would finally win a Slam quarterfinal (0-9) to break his “curse.” “Maybe I’m going to break it in the opposite way,” Rublev said, smiling, “not even to arrive”.”
Although his words did not portray him in a great light, Rublev demolished his own prophecy to move on to the finals of the tournament. Rublev also quashed the hopes of all Australian fans hoping De Minaur to win. He will go on to face Jannik Sinner in his 10th grand slam quarterfinal and only set his eyes on his first grand slam semifinals.
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Rublev entered the quarterfinal in a blazing fashion as all odds were stacked against him in the match. De Minaur posed a difficult challenge for him, but the world number 5 showed why he is a top player. Rublev fought hard to reach the quarterfinal and will aim to carry this momentum. He broke past his prophecy, now he will aim to break past the curse that has been plaguing him. Will the semifinal of the Australian Open finally read Andrey Rublev’s name, after nine long years?
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