“Worked So Hard for All His Life”: Daniil Medvedev Lauds Andrey Rublev for His Breakout Season

Despite having a string of poor performances this year, Daniil Medvedev hopes to end the season on a high. Preparing for Paris Masters 2020, he might face Kevin Anderson in the opening round, who defeated Medvedev in the quarterfinals of the Vienna Open last week.

During a pre-tournament media interaction, the 2019 US Open runner-up talked about his fellow countryman, Andrey Rublev, who is having the best season of the career. Rublev won his fifth ATP title of 2020 by triumphing at the Vienna Open and has secured his spot for the ATP World Tour Finals for the first time in his career.

World No.6, Medvedev, admitted that Rublev is in his best form at the moment, and not dropping a set en route to the Vienna Open title is quite an achievement. However, Medvedev jokingly said that he doesn’t want Rublev to play as well when he plays him.

“He’s on top of his form with a lot of confidence. I think he didn’t lose a set in Vienna, so he just amazing right now. So hopefully he can continue his form as much as he can. Of course not when he plays against me,” said Medvedev.

Daniil Medvedev heaps praise on Rublev

Notably, Rublev has won 3 of the last 4 tournaments he has played and improved to 7-2 in career finals. To top it up, the Russian has a win-loss record of 39-7 this season, matching Novak Djokovic’s number of wins. Medvedev acknowledged Rublev’s efforts since his early days, which have helped Rublev achieve outstanding success.

“He worked so hard for all his life, especially when he moved to Spain. So that’s the key, I think, for any tennis player, first, especially when you’re younger. Maybe when you’re older you have some experience going on and stuff,” remarked Medvedev.

Meanwhile, Rublev could face No.1 seed Rafael Nadal in the semifinals of Paris Bercy. Nadal is aiming to win his 36th ATP Masters 1000 title and equal Novak Djokovic’s record of most ATP Masters 1000 won.