Andrey Rublev was pleasantly surprised yesterday when he was told by a journalist that he would be one of the 32 seeded players at the Australian Open later this month.
“Are you sure? I didn’t know. You just tell me now,” Rublev said, hardly believing his ears after the journalist informed him that his win over Borna Coric yesterday coupled with the withdrawals of Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori meant he could expect to get a relatively easy first couple of rounds by virtue of being a seed.
But as the glad tiding sunk in, Rublev became more composed.
“Yeah, it’s an amazing feeling. Of course it’s great for me to hear that I’m going to be seeded in Australian Open for the first time. I hope I can show great things there and I will try to do my best. But we’ll see.
“Now it’s still one week and a half to go for Australia. I have to finish this tournament and I have one more tournament. So it’s a little bit too early to speak about Australia. But I’m happy to be seeded in Australia.”
Even at the young age of 20, Rublev has experienced the highs and lows of a Grand Slam tournament.
Last year he had a dream run to the quarter-finals of the US Open before losing to eventual runner-up Rafael Nadal.
Although the great Spaniard won in straight sets, Rublev said nothing can beat the experience, because he grew up admiring him and even wearing Nadal-sized tennis wear when he was 10 or 11.
“I mean, like he’s the fighter. You can see he never gives up. Even if he doesn’t feel well, you can see he’s doing everything still to compete. Most of the times, he’s still winning matches even with the bad games,” said Rublev.
“That’s why he’s one of best in my opinion. Even if you can beat good players with the bad game, then it’s amazing. If you feel the ball good, you will even destroy them. This is, I think, one of goodest things about him.”
Rublev revealed he also has a superstitious side to him. In fact he picks up a superstition at every tournament he plays.
“Every tournament is different. I have some superstitions. Every tournament it can be something new. Some tournaments maybe I have dinner always in only one restaurant. Some tournaments maybe I sit only in the same place of the car every day. Some tournaments I eat the same breakfast every day.”
When asked what he had been eating for breakfast in Doha, he said he was it was only “fruits and omelettes”. It’s unlikely he would be changing that routine today too.
Murray’s withdrawal was confirmed by Australian Open organisers who published a statement from the Scot on the tournament’s Twitter account yesterday.
“Sadly I won’t be playing in Melbourne this year, as I am not yet ready to compete,” three-times grand slam champion Murray said. “I’ll be flying home shortly to assess all the options but I appreciate all the messages of support and I hope to be back playing soon.”
He joins Kei Nishikori on the absent list for this year’s Australian Open after the Japanese withdrew to continue his rehabilitation on a wrist injury.