THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2025

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/A. Mannarino

7-5, 6-2, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. In a previous press conference you said you didn't really have any expectations coming into Wimbledon. Given how you played today, do you have new expectations now?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No, even before I was making fun to my team before the Wimbledon starts that, yeah, before I start to play Wimbledon, I was making fun to my team, like I don't know what I'm going to do, if we're going to lose first round then we go home or not.

But the level finally is there. Like, I'm playing good. I'm hitting the ball well. I start to feel that, yeah, the level is there, and it's just matter of time in terms of results.

Even during the all the months I was practicing hard, yes, it looks like I was doing the things, it looks like maybe I'm hitting the ball not bad, but deep inside I was feeling like, yes, looks like I'm playing well, looks like I'm improving, but something is not there.

Now when we're practicing, like, couple of days before the first round, we start to make fun that, okay, doesn't matter how is going to be the Wimbledon. But finally now I know that I'm hitting the ball, again, super good. Better than for a long time, since long time.

Q. This time last year was obviously a difficult period for you at Wimbledon. Does it feel satisfying to be, as you said, playing well and feeling good on the court here given that?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, I don't know. I don't know, because the last year, of course, you don't want to lose first round in the slams, but it happens sometimes. We can see this year with a lot of top players. It happened to me also in Australia Open. But it's not something crucial because we still have tournaments, we still have more slams ahead. Even if we have one more slam for this season, almost straightaway we have a new slam. Australia Open is coming. It happens.

Now this year, of course, I'm happy that I am able to win three matches. So I did better than last year. It's already better than nothing.

Q. Next round, there's a decent chance you'll be playing Carlos Alcaraz. How would you describe what it's like to play against him, and what confidence you may have from the past?

ANDREY RUBLEV: What it's like to play against him? I don't know. But with me he play, the last matches, he played well and he destroy me. Especially the last one in Turin. Yeah, he lost two matches. With me he played unbelievable.

I don't know what it's like. It's the same feeling like with Sinner. You're playing the best players. They know how to do everything. They know how to hit. They know how to defend. They know how to be patient. They know how to be strong mentally. They know how to serve, how to return. It's like, okay, I will have chance maybe if I play also my best tennis today, then maybe I have chance.

If I show weaknesses, it's like you're done. So you cannot show any weaknesses. That's the difference. Because some matches maybe you relax a bit or you complain a bit, but still you can win because you're too much maybe ahead in the score or you are better player. With them, these one or two points cost you match.

Q. What do you take away from having seen what happened in the final of the French Open? You brought in Sinner to my question about Carlos. What do you remember most about that match just a few weeks ago?

ANDREY RUBLEV: What I remember most? That I didn't watch it. That's what I remember (laughing). Yes, I feel not good about it because this match you need to watch. It's something that you can learn a lot of things from both sides.

I watched some highlights, but that's it. I know that was amazing match. I know that Sinner were two sets to love up and 40-Love with a break being break up. No. It was in the fourth set, sorry. I think 40-Love, and he was up 40-Love. It was in the fourth set?

Q. I'm sorry, fourth set.

ANDREY RUBLEV: I think he was only break up. He was like two sets up, break up. Didn't make it. Then fourth set break up and 40-Love on the return. So I knew these kind of things. I know that Alcaraz was serving for the match in the fifth, and he didn't hold it, so they went to the tiebreak.

There is a lot of things to watch and a lot of things to learn that I still need to do this homework.

Q. Will you watch now?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yeah. Now no, but when I will have time, maybe after Wimbledon or something, I will watch for sure when I will have more days.

Q. You mentioned what's happened to a lot of the top players in this tournament, a lot of the seeds have dropped out. You're still going. Is it something that as a seed, are you aware of the fact that other seeds are going out around you? Does that make you more nervous?

ANDREY RUBLEV: It's not around me because I have Alcaraz. So the seed that I have, he's still there (laughing). I guess it's better for other players who had the draw of Sascha Zverev or Daniil Medvedev.

Q. Why do you think it has happened so much?

ANDREY RUBLEV: It has happened because, first of all, now the level of tennis increase a lot. Like in my opinion it's the players who are 60, 50, 40, even 80, 90, all of them they know how to play tennis. All of them they can serve hard. They serve 220. Many of the players, even if they are not that tall, they shoot the ball hard without thinking sometimes. There is no tactic. There is no strategy. They just shoot, and that's it.

When they are playing like this, they can lose easy, and that's why maybe they are 90 or something in the world, because they cannot play like this consistently. But then they have those days or those weeks when they're feeling the ball. They have nothing to lose because they're playing the player that's better than them, and suddenly those balls, they're in.

Obviously when you are higher-ranked player and everybody expect you to win, yes, like for spectators when someone top ranked, top-10 playing guy 80 or 90, you cannot even lose two games to him or three games. When you win a set 7-5, like, this is not normal.

Of course, those players, they're even having more pressure. They are a bit more tight. They're not playing the same way like if they are facing another top-10 guy. Those things counts a lot in those moments.

That's why sometimes it can happen because before I would say the top-10 players, like when I was starting to play, the top-10 players you could see the difference between top 10 and then the rest, like, top 50 players.

Now you see the difference between 1 and 2, Alcaraz and Sinner, compared to top 50. But from I think number 3 or 4 in the world, it's like more or less the level is there. Like Taylor Fritz is, I think, ranked No. 5. Like 4 or 5. You don't know if he's better or Medvedev or Tsitsipas or Norrie or Tiafoe. Maybe Tiafoe is 15, 16 in the world. Then the level is super equal.

Q. You won 80% of your first serve points today. How do you feel about serving on grass? 80% of your first serve points you won. How are you feeling about your serve on grass at the moment?

ANDREY RUBLEV: For the moment I feel good. I don't know. Not much to say for the moment. I feel good serving on grass, yeah.

Q. Recently some guys have been talking about the weird situations they found themselves in with anti-doping. And particularly like, for example, Tallon Griekspoor said one time when the anti-doping guy came to his house he couldn't pee for, like, three hours. So it ended up with the guy sitting on his couch watching a full football game with the guy until he could do his sample.

ANDREY RUBLEV: What else to do? Watching in the wall?

Q. Have you had any weird experiences? In general, what is it like having someone watch you take a piss?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I had some experience, for sure. Especially one of my first ones when I was more tight, and I couldn't... I didn't really want to go bathroom. And I was thinking, how funny happening? Sometimes before the matches, you feeling nervous, and you go opposite, you go too often. Here I'm nervous, and opposite. It's blocking me, and I cannot go. So how funny, like, it works, the brain.

But I don't really remember. Maybe maximum happen to me, like, I was waiting one hour, not more. I was drinking a lot. And when you drink a lot, you need to wait. Even if you don't want to go, in one hour, you will go. Yes, sir, yes.

The general, how tough, you get used to. You get used to, because anyway, you see often the same guys, and they are more or less, all of them, they are quite respectful.

There is sometimes can happen if the guy is maybe, I don't know, maybe rookie or new or maybe, I don't know, I never see him before, and he will be a bit, like, a principal. Now, put pants down, like, until your knees.

Man, what the difference if it's until the knees or not?

No, this is the rules. Everybody have to follow.

You are like, Okay, I better just finish and go, because maybe this is...

Sometimes I face those guys, but was maybe one or two times in my life. But the rest are more or less they are respectful. They are okay. They are there. They're watching, but they're not trying to make you crazy. No, you have to stay like this or hold it like this. So they are more or less good.

Q. Can you remember the first time you did that or like when you were younger?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I was 18, maybe 19. I think it was maybe one challenger. But to be honest, I don't really remember exactly the first time. But I think for sure should be one challenger when I was over 18.