Dusan deserves the title

Andrey Rublev was everyone’s favourite ahead of the match against Lajovic but had to admit the
defeat today.
“Lajovic’s tennis was excellent, he hit the ball from every angle, his footwork was good, very strong. I
fought as much as I could. Later in the match I was more aggressive but it wasn’t enough. Anyhow, a
defeat is not a good thing, regardless of the fact that it came from a friend. I’m disappointed because I
didn’t win the title but if you asked me who deserved to win, that would certainly be Dusan”.
Rublev also commented on the fact that he was everyone’s favourite, especially after he won the
Monte-Carlo Masters.
“Sometimes you’re a favourite to win only on paper but we, the players, we know what that means,
what each of us can accomplish and I’ve recently said that it is very difficult to defeat Dusan when he
plays his best tennis and he proved me right against Novak”.
The same as Lajovic, the Russian player underlined that today’s rival is also a good friend and that
they often practice together so he’s been familiar with his qualities from the very start.
“His backhands are excellent, he uses kick serve when he needs to because he can feel the ball.
Then you need to think how to change your position to control the shots. He feels every shot, even
drop shots”.
In his answer to the question what was Lajovic like as a human being and as a friend, Rublev said the
following:
“I would give Dusan 100 out of 10 points. He’s loyal and never lies to you. We understand each other
well, and we talk a lot on different topics. I know he suffered a lot in the past. I’m very happy that he
won the title in front his people. He needed this win a lot and he deserved to win after all he’s been
through”.