{"id":293111,"date":"2023-11-04T21:26:18","date_gmt":"2023-11-04T21:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/?p=293111"},"modified":"2023-11-04T21:26:18","modified_gmt":"2023-11-04T21:26:18","slug":"andrey-rublev-never-wants-to-play-djokovic-again-as-russian-classy-after-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsloveme.com\/tennis\/andrey-rublev-never-wants-to-play-djokovic-again-as-russian-classy-after-loss\/","title":{"rendered":"Andrey Rublev never wants to play Djokovic again as Russian classy after loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Andrey Rublev was gracious in defeat as he took time out for some fans just minutes after losing to Novak Djokovic on a double fault. The pair met in the second semi-final at the Rolex Paris Masters with the match going down to the wire as the top seed just edged out the 26-year-old 5-7 7-6(3) 7-5. After the match, Rublev jokingly said he didn’t want to face Djokovic again despite taking the positives from his run in Bercy.<\/p>\n

Rublev put on one of his most impressive mental performances as he went toe-to-toe with Djokovic for three hours on Saturday evening. The world No 5 was just three points from victory on a couple of occasions in the second set but just lost out when he hit a double fault while serving to stay in the match.<\/p>\n

Djokovic himself later said that he had “never faced Rublev playing so well” and it seemed that the 14-time title winner agreed as he reflected on his week in Bercy. “I feel like, I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s been a great week,” Rublev said just minutes after walking off court.<\/p>\n

“I was playing really great level, I was controlling really good emotions so looks like I\u2019m moving in the right direction and the most important thing is to just keep going this way.” Rublev is now 1-5 against Djokovic but pushed the 24-time Grand Slam champion to the limit and will continue to be a tough opponent for the Serb in future meetings.<\/p>\n

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But Rublev is hoping that they don’t meet again, despite getting close to beating Djokovic for a second time. Asked what could make the difference the next time they faced off, he laughed and replied: “No, no, no. I don\u2019t want to play him next time. That\u2019s all I want.”<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old still knew that he had been on the cusp of victory as he added: “Two, three shots [decided the outcome]. It was three shots when it was [in the] second set 5-4, 6-5 I had 0-15, I miss a bit and when he have 6-5 he make it and I miss a bit so three, four shots decide the match.<\/p>\n

Rublev also gave an update after he aired his grievances with the scheduling when he finished his quarter-final match against Alex de Minaur at 12:59am. “Of course I was feeling tired but I managed to play a really good level,” he said after returning to the court 16 hours after finishing his previous match.<\/p>\n