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Andrey Rublev has identified winning a gold medal alongside Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the Tokyo Olympics as the highlight of his 2021 season. The World No. 5 described securing a medal as a "surreal feeling" and like "a double dream."
Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova joined forces as a mixed doubles team to claim gold medals for the Russian Tennis Federation in Tokyo. The duo defeated fellow Russians Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev 6-3, 6-7 (5), [13-11] in the gold medal match after saving a gold-medal point in the match tiebreak.
The pair won all four of their matches in deciding 10-point tiebreaks, and also saved a match point in their semifinal win over Australia's Ash Barty and John Peers.
In an interview with Arab News, Rublev singled out his Olympic triumph with Pavlyuchenkova as the highlight of his year.
"It’s something that happens only once in four years, and every athlete dreams about this and works super hard to compete in the Olympics," Rublev said. "To win a medal is like a double dream. And in the end, when you’re there, maybe you don’t realize it, but then when the moment comes and it’s the final and you make it, it’s a surreal feeling."
The 24-year-old also outlined what his main goal is for 2022, while not discussing any specific targets in terms of achievements.
"To improve as much as I can and to give my 100 percent from the person I am on that given day,” Rublev added. "At the end of the day, I want to be able to say that I gave it my all and do that every day. That’s the main goal."
Andrey Rublev to face Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray in final of Mubadala World Tennis Championship
Andrey Rublev defeated Denis Shapovalov 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4 in the semifinals of the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi on Friday. The Russian will face either Rafael Nadal or Andy Murray in the final.
Rublev has a 1-2 head-to-head record against Nadal and 1-1 record against Murray. He won his most recent encounters with both players earlier this year: beating Murray in Rotterdam and Nadal in Monte-Carlo.
