Rublev: "I understand Zverev, we have all felt the same"

Andrey Rublev is more than an authoritative voice to speak about mental health issues in the tennis world. The Russian revealed a few months ago that he went through depression and confessed to having had suicidal thoughts. Therefore, following the statements made by Alexander Zverev yesterday, where he claimed to feel empty, sad, and lonely, he did not hesitate to defend the German on a topic that is gaining increasing visibility.

The Moscow native secured a victory in his second-round match at Wimbledon against Lloyd Harris by 6-7(1), 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-3 and advances to the third round of the prestigious London event. After defeating the South African, he attended the press conference to discuss the importance of the third set and the increased competitiveness on the ATP circuit, especially on a challenging surface like grass. He also addressed the challenging situation that Zverev is facing.

Tough victory against Harris

"It was just a blister. After that, I got back to what I was doing. So, I was able to turn things around and play quite well until the end of the third set. For a set and a half, I was pretty focused and behaving well. Yes, he took the set, but it was a different story. Here, his level can't be compared with Paris. In Paris, I don't know if he was injured or if it was clay or something, but I won all the sets. Here, he was playing very well. Serving unbelievably. Hitting the ball. So, it was a different story."

"The feeling was that even if I played well and behaved well, it was going to be tough because if it went to a tiebreak, he would play two or three good points, and the match could shift. So we went to the tie-break, and I was lucky to win that third set, which gave me a lot of confidence. I guess that's why in the last game when I was 15-40 down, I was able to come back and hold my serve, because if it had been, I don't know, maybe down two sets to one, and it had been the same scenario, maybe I wouldn't have come back. So, yes, the third set was the most crucial. I was lucky to win it."

Understanding Zverev's situation

"To be honest, it has nothing to do with tennis. It's the same. It's just that you can find excuses like you're exhausted or mentally tired from playing non-stop, but it has nothing to do with tennis. Ultimately, tennis is just the triggering point. It's something within you that you have to face. It happens to everyone because Sascha loves tennis, and Casper and such, and many players love tennis. Those who don't love, who don't like tennis, are more relaxed. They really don't care because maybe they have different priorities, but those who love tennis, tennis fires you up."

"Tell Sascha or someone to take a break, but it will be difficult for him to take a break because he loves to play. For Casper, it's not easy either. Maybe now because it's grass, but for sure, it's not easy for him to take a break. He's surely practicing. It's not like saying, 'I'm taking a break and lying on the beach.' He's surely preparing. So, yes, as I said, it has nothing to do with tennis. Tennis is just the trigger."

Many surprises in the first two days of Wimbledon

"It makes me feel like I'm not alone. It makes me feel that, now, tennis is different. The level is different now. Now, everyone knows how to hit the ball. Everyone can be dangerous. Everyone knows how to serve over 200 and something. Now it's more about who is more stable, more focused, who is better prepared. It's different. There used to be more of a gap. Even three years ago, when I played against Lloyd in the second round of Wimbledon, the feeling was that if I focused, I had no chance of losing. Today, I had the feeling that even if I concentrated, it would be very hard to beat him. The level is different. Now everyone knows how to hit hard. They go for shots. In or out, it doesn't matter, 50/50, because then they know they can serve 200, hold serve. So at some point, they get it."

"Before, it was more about tactics, more strategy, how you play, how you defend, how you return shots. Now, okay, you have tactics. Okay, I want to play this way. The guy serves 220, ace. Okay, you return. He serves at full power the next set. Tactics don't work as much anymore. Only when it's slow courts, and then yes. Then we see more rallies and more tactics. Then the guy who is fitter and has better shots usually wins. Here, when it's fast, we see that everyone can hit hard, that's why everyone has opportunities".

More equality than ever

"Since I started, I would say my generation was the first that came, when we started playing, you start to see some players who are in the 100th or 80th position, they start to upset the top players more often. When I started playing, you could see the difference between the top 10 and the top 50. Now it's like, well, maybe there are three, two players like Alcaraz, Sinner, the most different compared to the Top 50. But the level of the rest is the same. Fritz is top-10, but Norrie is not top-10, although the level is similar. That's why there are so many ups and downs because now everyone has a good level."

Supporting Zverev again

"I understand what he feels because, as I say, for everyone, it's tough. I mean, it's not easy to explain. Everyone has to face it. That's why it doesn't make sense for me to explain it. I perfectly understand it; we've all felt the same. No matter how you struggle. No matter what happens in your life. The other person absolutely has the same things. So it's not like 'oh, my life is bad luck compared to his life.' No, he also fought, but the thing is you have different situations. That's the only difference, but if you delve into the main point, it will be the same".

The key to his victory today

"Today was more like, okay, the guy serves unbelievably. What can I do? I also know how to hit the ball, so I tried to hit first, and that's it. Whenever I have the chance, I try to dictate, and that's it because those who like to hit, obviously don't defend as well as those who like to run. If I play at medium speed, he will feel comfortable. He will hit hard and in the end, he'll get it. So it's like, okay, I have to do it first, and that was the difference, that I tried to do it first. In the end, if I win, it means I did it better. That's it".

Amid tennis equality, mentality is the difference

Now it's all mental. I'm not the perfect example of how I prepare mentally, but now the difference, I'd say, is mental. Those who are more stable are achieving better results. That's it. So today I tried. I tried it, there were ups and downs, but I try to be a bit more focused, and I could do it, and it also helped me," concluded Rublev empathizing with Zverev to highlight the importance of mental health in such a tightly contested and competitive sport like tennis.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Rublev: "Entiendo a Zverev, todos hemos sentido lo mismo"