Rublev confident after Monte Carlo

The winner of the Monte Carlo tennis Masters arrived to Republika Srpska straight from Monte Carlo. The young Russian player held off Holger Rune with 2:1 in sets (5-7, 6-2, 7-5). Rublev is the second seed in Banjaluka and could meet Novak Đoković in the Srpska Open final.

“Winning a tournament like that brings a lot of emotions but I’m here now. I have to work, to advance and find answers to what I need. Progress is made at practice sessions. I feel very confident, I think I’m doing well and I’ll keep insisting on that. I’m finally happy. I’ve gone under so much trouble to win a 1000 series tournament. I was losing 4:1, 0:30, and I thought it was over but somehow managed to win. I believed in the victory to the very end”, Andrey Rublev explained.

He has also added that he likes the weather in Banjaluka although it was raining in the last couple of days and the temperature was constantly below 15 degrees Celsius.

“I like the conditions in Banjaluka because its cold outside and the surface is slow, something I like. I’ll do my best to do as well as I can at the tournament.”

Last year, Rublev had a huge support from tennis fans in Belgrade and he hopes to repeat the same scenario at the Srpska Open.

“I didn’t expect such strong support in Belgrade. Belgrade reminds me a lot of home. I enjoyed my time there. When they relocated the tournament to Banjaluka I did not know that people knew anyone except Novak but they convinced me otherwise“.

In his first match, Rublev will play against the winner of the match between Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas and Frenchman Hugo Gaston.

“I’m not familiar with the Peruvian player and his tennis style. I’ll be watching their match, I have never played against the French, or trained with him, but I do not know his game. He is a young talented player, knows how to defend himself, reads the other’s player mind well, he is not so fast but he is smart and runs a lot. It will be difficult to hit winners against him under these conditions. I’ll have to wait for the right moment and be patient.”

At the end, Rublev also talked about his favourite music. In his answer to a reporter’s question whether he knew some local music, the Russian player admitted:

“I really don’t. I only listen to international music.”