Andrey Rublev stated he had accepted a wild card for Barcelona this week within the perception that his participation within the Monte Carlo Masters would come to a halt in opposition to Rafa Nadal within the quarter-finals on Friday.
But the exhausted Russian has now been left with a really fast turnaround after he beat the Spaniard after which went on to attain Sunday’s remaining of the ATP Masters 1000 occasion, the place he misplaced to Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“When I confirmed to play Barcelona, it was right before the match with Rafa,” Rublev advised reporters with a smile after his 6-3 6-3 loss to Tsitsipas in Sunday’s remaining.
“I was thinking in my head that Friday probably I will be already in Barcelona.”
Nadal, who counts 13 of his 20 Grand Slam titles on the pink dust of Roland Garros, has misplaced solely six occasions on the clay courtroom event, an occasion he has received 11 occasions.
Rublev, 23, climbed to a career-high rating of seventh on Monday, having registered essentially the most wins (21) on the ATP Tour season in 2021.
Greek Tsitsipas, 21, edged forward with a 4-3 lead of their head-to-head rivalry with Sunday’s win.
“If we talk deeply, of course, I mean, I feel tired after all the matches that I play, exhausted,” Rublev stated. “But this is not (an) excuse. He was just better than me, and that’s it.”
Following the ATP 500 occasion in Barcelona, Rublev will take per week off to relaxation earlier than he will get again on Tour on the back-to-back Masters 1000 occasions on clay at Madrid and Rome subsequent month.
“I think I can play on Wednesday, so I have like two days off, which is more than enough,” he stated.
“We’ll see how I will feel. I think everything is going to be okay because two days is more than enough to be ready. Then I’m not playing nothing, I have only Masters.”
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