I was afraid that Novak Djokovic could defeat him in straight sets after Jannik Sinner defeated me at the Australian Open. Andrey Rublev
Throughout the past two weeks, the Italian has been at the top of his game, but not many, even those he defeated, saw him dethrone 10-time champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
In his most recent interview with Ubitennis on the sidelines of the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, Rublev—who fell to Sinner in the quarterfinals—expressed confidence that Djokovic would defeat the Italian in straight sets.
But Rublev felt that Sinner was just playing some of his finest tennis after Sinner defeated Djokovic in four sets, and it motivated him to keep going after his own peak.
Perhaps I didn’t think Jannik Sinner could defeat me with such ease. Andrey Rublev
Even though Andrey Rublev knew Jannik Sinner was the favorite going into his Australian Open quarterfinal, he said that he did not anticipate losing in straight sets.
Rublev quickly clarified, though, that he had no unpleasant recollections of his matches with Sinner before mentioning that the opponent had performed at an amazing level in Melbourne.
On Wednesday, February 14, Rublev defeated Zizou Bergs to start his Rotterdam campaign. He will now face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the following round.