'I don't know the guy': Rublev brutally honest about his next Australian Open opponent
NewsTuesday, 20 January 2026 at 14:51
Andrey Rublev was very honest during his most recent on-court interview at the 2026 Australian Open.
Rublev might be one of the best tennis players ever, who never made it past the quarter-final stage at a Grand Slam. He is a 10-time quarter-finalist, having played at least one quarter-final at each major tournament.
This year, he will attempt to finally end that streak of quarter-final losses. He gets his first chance at the Australian Open. In his first match at the "Happy Slam," Rublev beat Matteo Arnaldi in three straightforward sets, 6-4, 6-2, 6-3.
However, his performance wasn't the highlight of the day. Rublev is an honest man, and that was on full display during his post-match on-court interview. The Russian player was asked about playing Jaime Faria in the next round, a player ranked 151st on the ATP Tour, who made it into the main draw through the qualifying.
Rublev admitted that he isn't familiar with Faria or his game, so he will have to analyze his next opponent's game. At the same time, Rublev knows that when playing against underdogs, he has the match on his racket, so he will mainly focus on bringing his A-game.
"I don’t know who I’m playing because I didn’t check the draw. You told me the name, and I still don’t know the guy. So I will need to check, to do some research, to see how he's playing."
"Then, obviously, of course, it's always about me, and doesn't matter, of course, you can have a tactic, but then it's about you, if you're going to do it, or if you're going to miss balls."
The interview continued quite hilariously when Rublev didn't know how to answer the following question about the conditions in Melbourne, even joking that he didn't feel connected with the interviewer.
"It's true we don't have a lot of connection. I don't know what to say, conditions, it's Australia. It's outdoors. Of course it's different, sometimes it's super hot, then it's super windy, then it's cloudy. It's a part of the sport, I don't know, you've been watching tennis for many years."
Rublev might play a more well-known opponent if he makes it to the next rounds. His next opponent could be the 18th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, and after that, Rublev could play back-to-back matches against Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, two players he knows very well.
Rublev is even a godfather to Medvedev's daughter, Alisa, and the two have a great relationship. If they meet at this year's Australian Open, it would be in the quarter-finals, the stage that still remains a hurdle for Rublev.
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