Andrey Rublev led Team Falcons to a comeback win in the World Tennis League final but didn’t appear to be too thrilled with the triumph, honestly telling the interview that doing well in the main-level tournaments was his main concern.
After Aryna Sabalenka and Mirra Andreeva edged out Elena Rybakina and Caroline Garcia 7-6 (5) – and the Russian also upset the Kazakh in singles 6-2 – Team Hawks opened a 13-8 lead.
The Falcons team may have been well down going into the last two matches but then Rublev stepped up to save.
First, he and Denis Shapovalov ousted Jordan Thompson and Sumit Nagal 6-2. Then, the eighth-ranked Russian also crushed Nagal 6-1 to complete a 20-16 victory for the Falcons.
Andrey Rublev and Sumit Nagal© World Tennis League/X – Fair Use
“To be honest, not for these moments I play tennis. I play tennis to play at the main tournaments,” the 16-time ATP champion said when asked if he played “for these big moments.”
“It’s still a nice feeling, I did my best. I tried and we were able to win so that’s the most important thing.”
The interviewer laughed but it was definitely not the answer he expected to get.
Andrey Rublev’s reaction to being asked if these are the moments he plays tennis for after winning World Tennis League 💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/0Um6tlJCVq
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) December 22, 2024
Rublev admits he didn’t really spend much time off-court with his Team Falcons colleagues
As mentioned above, the Falcons team also consisted of WTA stars Rybakina and Garcia, as well as ATP’s Denis Shapovalov.
While they managed to make it all the way at the Abu Dhabi tournament, the 27-year-old admitted that they didn’t really hang out off the court.
“There is no behind-the-scenes because we didn’t spend even one minute together outside of the bench. But I know the guys very well. I’ve known Denis since juniors, we played many matches. Elena and Caroline are super-nice girls – all of them are amazing players,” Rublev explained.
Tennis World USA