Google News Andrey Rublev makes honest admission after fourth consecutive loss to Novak Djokovic
by DZEVAD MESIC
Andrey Rublev says he "does not want to play Novak Djokovic next time" despite coming close to ending his losing streak against the Serb at the Paris Masters. On Saturday, world No 5 Rublev competed extremely well against Djokovic and he wasn't too far away from upsetting the Serb.
But unfortunately for Rublev, he wasn't able to come up big when it mattered the most as Djokovic escaped with a 5-7 7-6 (3) 7-5 win. "I feel like, I don’t know, it’s been a great week. I was playing really great level, I was controlling really good emotions so looks like I’m moving in the right direction and the most important thing is to just keep going this way," Rublev said after losing to Djokovic, via Express-Sport.
Rublev: I don't want to play Djokovic next time
When Rublev and Djokovic met for the second time in the 2022 Belgrade final, the Russian beat the Serb to clinch the Belgrade title and also tie their head-to-head to 1-1.
Since then, Djokovic has claimed four consecutive wins over Rublev and now owns a 5-1 head-to-head against the Russian. After coming close to ending his losing streak to Djokovic in Paris, Rublev was asked what could potentially make the difference next time against the Serb.
"No, no, no. I don’t want to play him next time. That’s all I want," Rublev said. After missing out on an early break point in the second set, Rublev ended up losing a tight second set in a tie-break. In the third set, Rublev got broken in the 12th game - the game in which he was serving to stay in the match.
Afterward, Rublev said that just a few points determined the outcome of the match. "Two, three shots [decided the outcome]. It was three shots when it was [in the] second set 5-4, 6-5 I had 0-15, I miss a bit and when he have 6-5 he make it and I miss a bit so three, four shots decide the match," Rublev said.