THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 2, 2025

Andrey Rublev

Press Conference

A. RUBLEV/L. Harris

6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Firstly, how is your leg? It took a bit of a beating in the first set. Secondly, this was another match where Lloyd took a set off you. He did that at Roland Garros. Your thoughts on Lloyd and his performance and making you play your best tennis?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No, the leg is good. There was nothing. It was just a shoe. After that, there was, like, again, what I'm doing. Then I was able to change and play quite well until the end of the third set -- until the third set. Like, for one set and a half I was quite focused and behaving good.

Yeah, he took set, but was different story. Like, here his level was -- you cannot compare to Paris. Like, in Paris, I don't know if he was injured or it was clay court or something, but I was the one whole of the set.

Here, he was playing really good. He was serving unbelievable. He was hitting the ball. So it was different story.

Like, here, the feeling was like even if I will play well and behaving well, it's going to be like tough, because if he goes with the tiebreak, he play two, three good points, and the match can change like this. So we went to the tiebreak, and I was lucky that I was able to win that third set, and it give me a lot of confidence.

I guess that's why in the last game when it was 15-40, I was able to come back and to hold my serve, because if I would be, I don't know, maybe two sets to one down and it would be the same situation, maybe I would not come back. So, yeah, the third set was the most important. I was lucky that I was able to win it.

Q. You've been very open in general about how you've been feeling, and this video came out that the ATP produced. I'm just wondering what it means for you to open up like that, and have any other players spoken to you about any of the things that, perhaps, they're saying, we feel the same way, or this meant something to us?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I mean, if I will be honest, nothing. What was exactly the question? What it give? What it cost for me to be open like that?

Q. No, what it means for you to be that open in general.

ANDREY RUBLEV: To be honest, nothing. I was just trying to be myself, and that's it. Yeah, myself.

Q. So just to follow up on that, because a lot of players... Casper Ruud, Zverev, all of these... have been talking about feeling burned out, feeling lonely, feeling many things. Do you think this is preventible, or do you have to hit that state for you to actually seek help or realize that you are in this?

ANDREY RUBLEV: To be honest, it's nothing to do with tennis. It's about the same thing. It's just you can find excuse how exhausted or mentally tired from playing nonstop, nonstop, but it's nothing to do with tennis.

In the end, tennis is just the trigger point. It's something inside of you that you need to face. It happens to everyone, because Sascha, he really loves tennis, and Casper and things like that, and many players, they do love tennis. The ones who don't love, who don't like tennis, they are more relaxed. They don't really -- they don't really care because maybe they have different priorities, but the ones who love tennis, the tennis triggers you.

You tell them to, tell Sascha or someone to take a break. It will get tough for him to take a break. He would love to play. For sure, Casper, maybe, for him it's not also easy. Maybe now because it's grass, but for sure it's not easy for him to take a break. For sure, I'm sure he's practicing. He's not just, okay, I take break and laying on a beach. For sure, he's preparing.

So, yeah, like I said, it's nothing to do with tennis. Tennis is just the trigger moment.

Q. I just wonder, have you been -- we've seen so many top seeds fall in the last couple of days. I wonder for you, as one of the higher ranked seeds -- but do you watch those results? How does it make you feel?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Of course, I saw the results. I'm inside the tournament. I'm one of the players, so of course, I saw the results.

How it make me feel? It make me feel that I'm not the only one (laughing). Then it make me feel that, now, tennis, it's different. Now the level is different. Now everybody knows how to hit the ball. Everybody can be dangerous. Everybody knows how to serve over 200 something. Now it's more about who is more stable, more focused, who is more ready.

It's different. Before it was more gap. Even three years ago when I played Lloyd in Wimbledon second round, was like, okay, inside the feeling was if I would just put focus, no chance for me to lose. Today was the feeling, even if I put focus and everything, it's going to be really tough to beat him.

The level is different. Everybody knows how to shoot hard now. They are going for the shots. In or out, it doesn't matter, 50/50, because then they know that they serve 200, they hold the serve. Then one moment, you're making it.

Before it was more tactic, more strategy, how you play, how you defend, how you bring the balls back. Now, okay, you have tactic. Okay, I want to play like this. The guy serve 220, ace. Okay, you return. He shoot full power next set.

The tactic doesn't really work that much anymore. Only when it's slower courts, and then yes. Then we see more rallies, then more tactics. Then the guy who is more prepared physically normally, and more physically and who have better shots normally wins.

Here when it's fast, now we see that everybody can shoot the ball hard, and that's why everybody have chances.

Q. Do you think at Wimbledon on the grass it makes it more open to upsets because people aren't used to the surface and don't have as much time, maybe, to adjust to the surface?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yes, as well. Yeah, as well as we can see also by results, yeah.

Q. You talk about the changes. Do you think -- is that the last two or three years, or is it since you started playing on the tour?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Since I started to -- I would say my generation was the first one that we came -- when we start to play, you start to see that some players who is ranked 100 or 80, they start to, like, to be more often upsets from the top players.

Then now it's like, let's say, before when I started to play, you can see the top 10 compare to top 50, there was a difference in the level. Now it's like, okay, maybe it's three, two players like Alcaraz, Sinner, I don't know, maybe someone else, they are different compared to 50 players, and the rest is, like, the same.

It's, like, I don't know, Fritz, who is top-10 player and then maybe, I don't know, Norrie, he is not top-10 player, but level is similar. Or Tiafoe is like -- so yeah, you understand what I mean.

That's why many up and downs because everybody now have good level.

Q. We've had these incredible comments from Casper and Alex de Minaur. Last night was just incredible when Sascha was saying that he felt so alone and no joy. Earlier you made incredible comments. Of course, yourself, and I know you spoke -- Marat was very helpful to you. I did not see the video, but if you could share what you would say to your fellow players to try and get some joy or...

ANDREY RUBLEV: It's nothing. I understand what he feel because, like I say, everybody -- it's tough. I mean, it's not tough to explain. Everybody have to face it. That's why it make no sense for me to explain it.

Everybody feel the same thing. Doesn't matter how you struggle. Doesn't matter what happens in your life. The other person absolutely having the same things. So it's not like, oh, my life is unlucky compared to his life. No, he also struggled, but the thing is you have different situations. That's the only difference, but if you go deep to the main point, it will be about the same thing.

So I understand perfect, Sascha. It's just more about to face some things that he didn't face yet in hisself.

Q. So you were talking about how everybody can hit the ball, like, really hard and everybody has the level, right? What do you add to your game to be able to try and defend or play against, if you are playing against a player for top 100, physically, in your game. And then also mentally, what works for you to be able to really show up in your best? Is it the environment? Is it your practice?

ANDREY RUBLEV: No, I don't know. Today it was just more about, okay, the guy serve amazing. He tried to hit the ball. What can I do? I also know how to hit the ball, so I tried to hit first, and that's it.

As soon as I have chance, I try to dictate, and that's it, because the guys who likes to hit, obviously they don't defend as good as the ones who like to run. If I play middle speed, he will feel comfortable. He will hit hard. He will start to shoot the ball, nothing to lose. In the end, he will make it.

Then it's like, okay, I need to do it first, and that was the difference, that I was trying to do it first. In the end, if I win, it means that I did it better. That's it.

Q. Mentally, what do you -- how do you get yourself ready?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Now it's all about mental. I don't know (laughing). I'm not the perfect example of how I prepare mentally, but now the difference is I would say is mental. The ones who are more stable, they are doing better results. That's it.

So I tried today. I tried -- there was up and downs, but I try to be a bit more focused, and I was able to do it, and it also helped me.

Q. You have Mannarino next. He is someone who can drive opponents crazy, especially on grass. Your thoughts about playing him?

ANDREY RUBLEV: What to say? We played many times against each other. Like you said, he can drive everybody crazy. He's super talented. The style of the game that he's playing, it's not easy to play. You need to have a lot of patience. You need to wait for your moment. That's tricky, because, like you said, you can go crazy, and you start to hit without sense, and that's what he's looking for because here he's really -- in those kind of games, he's really good. He knows how to defend well. He knows how to bring the balls back. That is super uncomfortable. That it make you go for extra risk, which, like, makes you miss more. Then on top of that, he can use your speed and suddenly play fast. So it's very, like you said, very -- like a very tough player who is on top of that, super talented. Grass, I guess, yes, it's his favorite surface, so we'll see. We'll see what's going to happen.