ATP: Andrey Rublev is an old-school man

Andrey Rublev qualified for the semi-finals in the first edition of the Next Gen ATP Finals with two victories in the group stage. However, the 20-year-old Russian has a hard time making friends with some of the new rules. Denis Shapovalov turns out to be an entertainer on the square.

From Florian Heer from Milan

It was late on Thursday evening when Andrey Rublev entered the press room at the Milan Fairgrounds half an hour before ghost hour. The top seeded Russian had previously knocked down Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov in five (short) sets to reach the semi-final of the latest ATP event, but was still in high spirits.

“It was a tough match, but I’m very happy,”Rublev begins to talk about his final match in the group stage. However, the number 37 in the world ranking list is not very euphoric about the newly introduced rules.

“With the new rules, you need to stay 100% focused. Anyone can beat anyone with it. Even if you seem to be on the winning track, the game can turn around completely in just a few minutes. Everything is extremely fast and the matches are coming to an end,”explains Rublev after his two-hour performance on Thursday evening.

However, the young star can still live well with the acceleration of the game. However, he seems to find it more difficult to make fundamental changes to the rules.

“I don’t like it when the actual rules of the game are changed. There are some rule changes that do not change the tennis game as such. That’s okay. That’s okay. The game without linesmen or the shot clock does not change the actual game. But if the sentences are played out only up to 4 without ad-scoring it looks different. In my opinion, these changes are not fair, because it overrides the fact that the winner has to work harder. The possibilities for winning are thus simplified.”

His final opponent in the group match, Denis Shapovalov, obviously seemed to be able to enjoy the event to the fullest extent and was clearly at home on the relatively large stage in Milan with 4,500 spectators. Again and again he pushed himself gesture-rich on the court and carried the spectators away emotionally.

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Even if it was not enough to get ahead in the end, the 19-year-old Canadian took up the new rules predominantly positively.

“Of course the game changes. It’s getting a lot more intense. You also have less chances of getting a break. So if you manage to break your opponent’s serve, the sentence is almost over,”Shapovalov says.

After a successful season, the Canadian was also a little bit relieved to be able to start his well-deserved journey home.

“It was a long and fantastic year for me. Of course it’s a pity to have already retired, but I’m looking forward to being at home now. Now it’s time to recharge the batteries, work harder than everyone else in the run-up to the season, and get back on the pitch next year.”