As the Western and Southern Open prepares for its curtain call, fans gear up for a thrilling last quarter. The tournament has provided thorough entertainment, living past its expectations. However, with an enthralling semi-final clash on the cards, fans are about to witness a showdown like never before. Top seed Daniil Medvedev takes on his Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev, aiming to get one step closer to the title.
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Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev prepare to battle it out in an all-Russian semi-final at the Cincinnati Open 2021. Given the caliber of the two and their recent run of form, fans expect a fierce outing. However, as they meet as rivals on the court, Daniil is all hearts and all laughs for his opponent. Ahead of his clash with Andrey, the World No. 2 was in splits, revealing how his fellow Russian often tickles his funny bone, unintentionally.
“Rublev makes me laugh”- Daniil Medvedev
In a newly emerged video, Daniil reveals how much he enjoys Rublev’s interviews and antics, off the court. Even though Andrey is just being himself on most days, Medvedev finds his opponent’s on-camera appearances hilarious.
He said, “Rublev makes me laugh, everything he says, everything he talks about, every time I see him doing interviews, every time I see him on stage. Maybe less on the tennis court, because he’s very serious, he just goes for the winner and stuff like this, but he can make me laugh a lot.”
"Rublev makes me laugh. Everything he says"
Daniil is gonna be fighting laughter in the #CincyTennis semi-finals against Andrey 😂 pic.twitter.com/8QlsmbXuvi
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 20, 2021
Explaining his amusement at the cost of his opponent’s struggles during interviews, Daniil added, “So funny sometimes how he can forget words and stuff like this. I mean just the way he expresses his thoughts because I think many times, he doesn’t tell you or the fans what he actually thinks because he cannot express what he thinks.”
“But for me, I know what he thinks. I mean Russian is much easier for him, so I laugh about it because I’m like, ‘you don’t want to say this one, man.'”
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Jokes aside, let the battle begin
Leaving his humor for the off-court cameras, Daniil now prepares to put on a show and cruise to yet another title this year. Notably, he will look to replicate his success from the National Bank Open and continue his title-winning campaign in Cincinnati. However, on a mission to topple the top seed, Rublev will leave no stone unturned. Although, the odds are against him, courtesy of the history they share.
The duo have met on 4 occasions in the past, with Daniil emerging victorious in all the outings. This would be the second time they meet in Cincinnati after their quarter-final clash in 2019. Aiming for redemption, will Rublev finally beat Daniil? or will the World No. 2 have the last laugh, yet again?
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