No one can deny that Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev have one of the most beautiful friendships in tennis. Both hailing from Russia, Rublev revealed earlier this year that the two of them have been friends since they were around six years old.
Over the years, their friendship bloomed and deepened, despite the fact that they had to compete against each other on the court multiple times. In fact, the two got so closely-knitted that Medvedev named Rublev the godfather of his first child, Alisa.
Career-wise, the two also put in constant hard work and dedication to the sport and eventually rose to the summit of the Pepperstone ATP rankings, with Medvedev currently ranked No. 3 and Rublev ranked No. 5, respectively.
Nitto ATP finals
The two made it to the Nitto ATP finals this year, and they were the second pair to spar on court in the Green Group.
With this being their ninth-time together on court and with so much stake on the line, Medvedev and Rublev suited up for the game.
“To be honest, on court, I don’t know how it is for him. For me on court, doesn’t exist, friends, enemies. I just try to win the match. I don’t think about anything else,” Medvedev said of their encounter.
Medvedev defeated Rublev in a straight-set 6-4, 6-2 victory, improving their head-to-head record to 7-2.
And although Medvedev stated that he doesn’t think of their friendship once they step onto the court, he admitted that this mindset wears off as soon as the match draws to a close.
“But when the last point is finished, it’s like I feel sorry for him, he lost the match. But it’s the same for him. If he beats me, I mean, last year was brutal when he beat me,” Medvedev added.
He also added that after beating him, there was some kind of distance between them, as Rublev got ‘kind of shy’ to talk to him afterwards.
“So I felt for one or two days he was kind of shy to talk to me, taking care. It’s the same. You always try to look at him and see if tomorrow we can talk like normal. I’m going say him good luck, go for it the next matches, and he’s probably going to say the same,” he said to the Turin Press.
Daniil Medvedev says he feels sorry for Andrey Rublev once the match is over, but ‘friends don’t exist’ on court:
"To be honest, on court, I don't know how it is for him. For me on court, doesn't exist, friends, enemies. I just try to win the match. I don't think about anything… pic.twitter.com/zOLfj3nNGp
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 14, 2023
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