Andrey Rublev won in the first round of the 2023 Roland Garros but he dismissed any extra pressure.
It's been quite a successful clay-court part of the season for the Russian, who won 13 of 16 matches he played on the red dirt. Coming into the Roland Garros, Rublev already has an ATP 1000 title to his name after winning the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters.
In the first round of the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, Rublev won against Laslo Djere in four sets, and after the match, he was asked whether it's better or worse that people are talking more about him as one of the favourites.
"Better, better (smiling). I don't know. It's better. Better when they mention less your name than more. No expectations. I don't know, at the US Open I almost lost to him. Today I was close to lose two sets to one. No expectation. Just to focus on the things that I have to do in a set."
In his career, Rublev never reached the semifinals of the major, but this time, it can be his event and when talking about expectations, he totally dismissed them, claiming they are not real.
"I don't know. I mean, I think it's more about the player, how he take those things, because expectations in the end is a bit not real."
Rublev thinks that it's not real, but more something that the media likes to discuss as he doesn't feel any extra pressure. The Russian thinks that no one cares if he wins or loses.
"I don't know. It's more like a game for the media and everyone that, okay, you think now I have to win or whatever. It's a bit fake, because in reality, no one cares if you win or you lose. That's the reality."
"So I try to just, like I said, to focus on the things that I need to focus and to try to think less about what's going round."
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