"Best and coolest photo I've ever seen" - Victoria Azarenka reacts to Andrey Rublev posing with 'lightning bolt' trophy after winning UTS Frankfurt

Victoria Azarenka was impressed by the striking photograph capturing Andrey Rublev with the trophy following his victory at the 2023 Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in Frankfurt, Germany.

Making his debut at the at UTS event, Rublev, nicknamed "Rublo," suffered a defeat to "El Peque" Diego Schwartzman in his opening match. However, he bounced back strongly to win his subsequent group stage matches, defeating "La Monf" Gael Monfils and "The Rocket" Christopher Eubanks to make it to the semifinals.

The Russian claimed a 21-8, 14-13, 17-3 win over "The Rebel" Benoit Paire to set up a highly anticipated title clash with "G-Unit" Grigor Dimitrov. On Sunday, September 17, the 25-year-old defeated Dimitrov 14-13, 12-17, 11-10, 17-16 to clinch victory in the sixth edition of the UTS tournament.

Following his win, Andrey Rublev was awarded the Zeus trophy, which bears a lightning bolt design, paying homage to the Greek deity from which it takes its name. The World No. 6 was photographed holding the trophy aloft, striking a cinematic pose.

Reacting to the picture on social media, Victoria Azarenka described it as the "best and coolest" photo of a player posing with their trophy she had ever seen.

"I think this is probably the best and coolest photo I've ever seen with the trophy⚡️ Wow," Azarenka posted.

With his win, Andrey Rublev secured his spot in the 2023 UTS Grand Final, earning automatic qualification by virtue of winning one of the three editions of the event in 2023.

The first edition took place in Los Angeles in July, where Yibing Wu defeated Taylor Fritz in the final to win the title. The third and final leg of the UTS 2023 is scheduled to be held in December in Seoul, South Korea.

"It was really tough, really intense" - Andrey Rublev after winning UTS Frankfurt

Andrey Rublev

Following his win over Grigor Dimitrov in the final of the 2023 Ultimate Tennis Showdown in Frankfurt, Andrey Rublev acknowledged the challenging nature of the match, characterized by extended rallies that left him struggling to catch his breath.

The 25-year-old also expressed his satisfaction at providing an entertaining performance that delighted the audience.

"It was really tough. It was really intense. We had a lot of long rallies – in some moments it was really tough to breathe. I’m happy that we showed great tennis and in the end people enjoyed it – that’s the most important thing," he said in his post-match interview.

Andrey Rublev will be in action at the 2023 China Open next. The ATP 500 event is scheduled to be held from September 28-October 4. The Russian will be joined by top seeds Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas, among others, in Beijing.