Rublev hurts himself as he loses control during loss to Evans

Andrey Rublev has often spoken about his difficulty to contain his emotions on the court during matches. On Wednesday, the Russian’s volatile nature was in plain sight during his loss to Dan Evans at the Canadian Masters in Montreal.

Evans broke Rublev’s serve in the very first game of the match as the Russian double faulted on break point and then hit himself with his racquet in frustration.

After breaking back to level the first set at 3-3, Rublev lost his serve and his temper again, and went on to lose the first set 6-4.

There was another outburst in frustration in the second set as Evans broke the Russian again before completing the 6-4, 6-4 win one hour and 31 minutes.

“I do not know how to deal with the pressure” – Rublev

In an interview with Tennis Majors’ Sasa Ozmo earlier this year, Rublev had spoken about his difficulties with handling pressure.

“Actually, I do not know how to deal with it (the pressure). Maybe it would be better if you ask this question to Novak, Rafa and Roger, they are the ones with the real pressure.”

Sometimes I watch videos and I think ‘what am I doing?

Andrey Rublev to Tennis Majors

“Pressure is part of our job and it will always be like that. For me, the best solution is to not think about it at all. Once I start to think about it, it just adds more stress. We have to accept it like we accept the different conditions on the court: sometimes it is sunny, sometimes it is windy… You will find pressure in every part of the sport. For instance, when you are a higher-ranked player and everybody expects you to win, sometimes you get tight on a crucial point because you feel that you have to win.”

Rublev said he had been working on the same and felt he needed to improve that aspect of his game in order to take the jump to the next level.

“Sometimes I watch videos and I think ‘what am I doing?’ I am trying to eradicate those things from my game. I want to be more professional and more positive on the court. I feel like that is what I am missing in order to reach the next level.” 

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