“Doesn’t Matter If It is a Double Fault”: Andrey Rublev Looks Back on Key Moment After ATP Finals 2020 Exit

Rising Russian tennis star Andrey Rublev has shared his thoughts on his exit from ATP Finals after an agonizing loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas. Rublev double-faulted on a match point in the deciding set to lose the closely fought encounter.

A loss from a match point: Tough one to swallow for Andrey Rublev

Looking back to that crucial moment in the game, Rublev stopped short of blaming his loss entirely on the double fault. He said, “It doesn’t matter if it is a double fault, a winner by him or my mistake. The result is the same.”

The Russian came into the ATP Finals on the back of five Tour titles this year. He said he should have accepted a time violation after a 25-shot rally. Rublev said he was “out of breath” after the rally and it, perhaps, cost him the game in the end.

Read More: ATP Finals 2020: Semi-Final Qualification Scenario for Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev

Was a must-win tie for Rublev and Stefanos Tsitsipas

Both players came into the round-robin tie under a lot of pressure after losing their previous matches. Tsitsipas, the defending champion, lost to Austrian Dominic Thiem in a rematch of last year’s final in London.

Rublev, on the other hand, was beaten 6-3, 6-4 by 20-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal. However, the Russian said rather than being consumed by self-pity, he would take the lessons from this defeat into future games.

After dropping the opening set 1-6, Rublev made a spirited comeback to take the match into a deciding set. However, that double-fault on match point proved costly as the defending champion eked out a hard-fought win.

Rublev still grateful for a breakthrough season

“I’m grateful for this season. I cannot complain. I won so many tournaments that I never won before. This year, I won more tournaments than in (the rest of) my career,” Rublev said. “I can only be grateful for this season. I became Top-10 for the first time, so this season was amazing for me.” 

Counting the positives from his defeat, Rublev said, “Basically, it was supposed to be maybe 1-6, 6-3, and I was still there…I was still fighting and, in the end, I had match point…I was almost there and had my chance to win the match…so I’m really happy with my mental (strength) today.”

Rublev will play his final round-robin tie against reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem. The Austrian is already through to the semi-final of the ATP Finals.