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QATAR EXXONMOBIL OPEN

January 4, 2018

Andrey Rublev

Doha, Qatar

A. RUBLEV/B. Coric

6-3, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. A good match today. You did superbly. Your thoughts?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Thank you. Yeah, I was great match for me. I was playing really well today and I hope tomorrow I can play even better. But we'll see tomorrow.

And yeah, it's all I can say. I was feeling the ball great. I was feeling the ball well. I know since the beginning of the match that I have to try to dictate the point. I have to try to attack. I have to try to lead, but I have to try to do it with a good position. That was the key and that was the -- how you say, not plan, but I was trying to do this since the beginning and I think it was working quite well.

And in the end, I win.

Q. Was it easier than you expected?
ANDREY RUBLEV: No. I mean, he's a great player. You can see that he beat many top players. I expect it's going to be tough to beat him today, especially after we meet already once. So I was thinking it was going to be really, really tough. You can see that both of us was really, really close. He had some breakpoints. He had break up. But then I come back. So it was a really tough match and it was really close.

In the end I was little bit more lucky. Maybe I play in some moments a little bit better and then I win the match.

Q. You're identified as one of next generation of big stars in tennis. Does that put any more pressure on you to perform?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Like I say many times already, I mean, I'm not really thinking about it because it's still long, long way to be like a top player, and it's still long way to improve to compete with top players to try to beat them. So it's not the moment to speak if it's pressure or not pressure. Because there is a long way.

I would like to compete and try to beat top players. So we'll see. I will try to do my best for it. Then if I can compete for them, then we can talk about pressure or something. For the moment, I'm too far away from them to talk about pressure.

Q. Last year you became one of youngest players to reach the US Open qualifiers and you played your idol Rafa Nadal. Can you talk about the qualities that you admire the most about Rafael Nadal. What lessons do you take away from the match? Did you pick up something from playing the top player at the biggest stage?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Can you repeat the first part of the question?

Q. You played your idol --
ANDREY RUBLEV: And the question -- you asked two questions. What was the first?

Q. What qualities do you admire most about Rafa?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, like he's the fighter. You can see he never give up. Even if he doesn't feel well, the ball on the match, you can see he's doing everything still to compete. Most of the times, he's still winning matches even with the bad games. That's why he's one of best in my opinion. Even if you can beat good players with the bad game, then it's amazing. If you feel the ball good, you will even destroy them. This is, I think, one of goodest things about him.

And the lessons that I got to compete with the top players, you have to have everything -- well, you cannot have weakness. You have to go 100 percent ready to fight, 100 percent ready to run for every ball. And that's it. And then you have -- maybe you will have some chances to play great match against them.

Q. Do you have any superstitions that you picked up on court or off court?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I answer for this question already a few times. I don't know, every tournament is different. I have some superstitions but not something that I'm doing every tournament. Every tournament it can be something new. Some tournaments maybe I dinner always in one restaurant. Some tournaments maybe I sit only on the same place of the car every day. Some tournaments I do the same, I don't know, breakfast. But every tournament is something different. It's not like every tournament has to be the same. It's just feeling, I don't know.

Here, I think it's only the breakfast, to do the same breakfast. All the rest is --

Q. What have you been eating?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Fruits and omelet.

Q. So you are having an amazing start of the season. Were you thinking before coming here that you would reach that part, like a semifinal? And how would you prepare this semifinal against this top player?
ANDREY RUBLEV: First, I didn't expect that I'm going to be in the semifinal. I mean, I was expecting that I want to go as far as I can, to do my best, as best as I can. And that's it. And we'll see. If it's second round, it's second round. If it's first round, it's first round. But to do my best, to give everything, that was the main goal for the tournament.

In the end, now I'm in the semifinal and tomorrow I'm playing really good player. I know that last year he beat many top players, many good wins. He did final of ATP from quallies, so this means that he's playing tennis really well.

We'll see tomorrow. I hope I can play even better than today. I hope we can show a great match and everybody will enjoy it.

Q. A lot of players are struggling in this tournament, including the seeds. Most of them fallen, even Dominic doesn't seem to be in his rhythm. What do you think the reason is? Is it just because it's the season opener or the conditions, the chill? What is it?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I think, in my opinion, first of all, the top players, top seeds, they had a little bit longer season. They finish after London, I think it's almost the end of November. So they have less maybe preparation. They have less -- because me, I was almost one month and a half I was preparing, a little bit less than one month and a half. For them even less. So they just finished one month ago the season and now they have to start again.

It's tough because everybody is waiting for you to show your best tennis. Every week you prove that you are one of best ones. I mean for them. Then every week, every week is really, really tough. Especially now is beginning of the season, and they are trying to be in the best shape as they can for Australian Open. So I think it's really tough for them for the top players because you need to prove that you are one of best ones. During all the year and every season again and again and again, it's really tough. And some moments of course they will have some downs, you know. It's normal. Maybe it just happens this tournament. You can see, I mean, still that they are in -- then they are much better than the all other players. And in the end -- by the end of the season, they always prove it. It's just the first tournament and it's nothing special, in my opinion.

Q. There's a lot of talk about your looks also. You look like a young Boris Becker. A lot of things I read about your looks. How does it make you feel?
ANDREY RUBLEV: I don't know. I never hear about it. I'm trying to be myself. I try to look like I'm looking. I'm not trying to copy someone. If they compare me with the top players, for me is great because they are top players. It's a great feeling when someone compare you with the top players. We'll see. I don't even know how to answer because I never got this question before.

Q. With your result today, you will be seeded in the Australian Open.
ANDREY RUBLEV: That's for sure?

Q. Yeah.
ANDREY RUBLEV: I didn't know. You just tell me now.

Q. By now you are 33. How important is the Australian Open?
ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah, it's amazing feeling. If it will be true and for sure, of course it's great for me to hear that I'm going to be seed in Australian Open for the first time. I hope I can show great things there and I will try to do my best. But we'll see.

Now it's not -- it's still one week and a half to go for Australia. I have to finish this tournament and I have one more tournament. So it's a little bit too early to speak about Australia. But I'm happy to be seed in Australia.

Q. If you win here in Doha, you know that you will be the second Russian to win here. Did you know about it? Davydenko --
ANDREY RUBLEV: I know that Davydenko he won here. But still it's no point now to talk about win or not win. Tomorrow I have tough match and it's still long way to go to win this tournament. It's only the semifinal. We'll see.

Q. There are very few players who have won the Grand Slam in the last ten years. Only about five or six, handful of players. What do you think of the qualities that separate these five from the rest of the field? And what do you think you need to improve to challenge for the Slams in the future?
ANDREY RUBLEV: About last ten years, you can see there was like five, maybe six players who won the Grand Slams which is normal because it was the best players only winning this tournament. That's way it makes this tournament so special. Not everybody can win this tournament. It's only the guys who work harder, who deserve it more, who do more stuff more professional compare to other players. That's why they are winning these trophies. If you look how they work, I mean, not many players are ready for this hard and tough work.

So in the end this way they are winning because they are the best. It's only you can say bravo to them and that's it. In my case there is long way also to still improve and to change few things to be more even professional.

And we'll see. We'll see in the future.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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