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In hilarious scenes that unfolded on Sunday, Andrey Rublev forgot to congratulate his team after winning the title at the 2023 Swedish Open in Bastad.
Russia's Andrey Rublev defeated Norway's Casper Ruud in the final of Bastad, 7-6(3), 6-0, to lift the 14th title of his career. It was the second title for Rublev in 2023, after previously winning the Monte-Carlo Masters.
During the presentation ceremony, Rublev gave a speech thanking everyone involved in his path to the title, but there was someone he had forgotten.
"I forgot my team! I forgot about my coach there," Rublev said with a laugh.
The 25-year-old then got back on track, explaining how he started working with coach Alberto Martin in 2023, with the Spaniard doing the first coach duties in Fernando Vicente's absence in Sweden.
"It's a funny thing because normally my main coach is Fernando Vicente, and Alberto Martin is my now second coach, we started [working together] this year. The only titles and finals this year I did with him, not with Fernando! So I guess we are doing right [things], so thank you so much, and hopefully, more titles come," Rublev added.
The final in Bastad was Rublev's fifth in 2023. Besides the two mentioned titles, he lost in Dubai, Banja Luka, and Halle. By winning another title, the Russian didn't gain enough points (250) to move up in the rankings, but he has now closed down the distance to World No. 6 Holger Rune to 95 points.
Andrey Rublev joins Rafael Nadal in exclusive list after beating Casper Ruud in Bastad 2023 final
Andrey Rublev defeated Casper Ruud, 7-6(3), 6-0, in the final of the 2023 Swedish Open in Bastad, winning the second title of his career.
He did so by bageling Ruud in the second set, which is something nobody except Rafael Nadal has done on clay since 2020. The 'King of Clay' managed to do so in the 2022 French Open final.
The Russian also managed his fifth ATP event final win against a top-10 ranked opponent, with it being the second time Rublev has clinched such a win with a 6-0 set. Previously, he had defeated Novak Djokovic at the 2022 Serbia Open in Belgrade.
"I wasn't really motivated to play today. All the referees said for sure, you’re not gonna play today most likely, no chance... then they said it looks like maybe we're going to start at 2. I went to lunch," Rublev said during his post-match interview.
With the victory in Bastad, Andrey Rublev's win percentage on clay at ATP events is now 66.7%. Rublev holds the highest win percentage among his compatriots on the surface in the Open Era (minimum of ten matches).
