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Andrey Rublev kicked off his 2022 ATP Finals campaign with a hard-fought win over 2020 champion Daniil Medvedev on Monday.
World No. 7 Rublev lost the opening set of the match, but fought back to take the next two to seal a 6-7(7), 6-3, 7-6(7) victory in just over two and a half hours. Rublev, the only player from the Red Group not to have won the ATP Finals, will square off against Novak Djokovic in his next outing on Wednesday.
In an on-court interview after the match, Rublev joked that he was in the "worst group" and could "go home now" after beating a former champion.
"I don't know, man, I beat one former champion, so it's enough, I can go home now. I don't know man, I am in the worst group, I don't know what I am doing there," Andrey Rublev remarked.
"Let's say the best one emotional-wise" - Andrey Rublev on his win over Medvedev
In their sixth meeting on the tour, Andrey Rublev made a stunning comeback to beat compatriot Daniil Medvedev on Monday. The former World No. 1 still, however, leads their head-to-head 4-2.
Medvedev hit 46 winners, including 24 aces. However, his first-serve percentage dropped significantly after the opening set, allowing Rublev a way back into the match. Rublev's resilience eventually saw him over the line in a thrilling third-set tie-break.
At a press conference later, Rublev said it was his best match in terms of handling his emotions, adding that he would normally crumble after what happened in the first set.
"Let's say the best one emotional-wise, yes, because we had so much dramatic, especially after the first set, being 5-2 up, having seven set points, 6-2 in the tiebreak, not being able to win a set I think never happen to me that," Rublev said.
"Normally after something like that, I don't think I would win a match. Being able to turn around a match and win - win not only like second and third set, but win third set on a tiebreak 9-7, being again 6-3 up, this is something that never happen to me. So emotional-wise, for sure," he added.
