Andrey Rublev is in great form and the semi-finals he reached in Indian Wells are proof of that. The Russian’s victory over Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, 7-5, 6-2, was his 13th consecutive win and he has already won the Marseille and Dubai tournaments this year.
Rublev reaches the semifinals without having dropped a set and will face local favorite Taylor Fritz. After the match, the number 7 in the ranking, who is still looking for the first Masters 1000 of his career after the defeats in the finals of Monte Carlo and Cincinnati in 2021, commented on his match with Dimitrov and spoke of Rafael Nadal as a possible rival in the final.
Rublev analyzed his victory over the Bulgarian player. “I have played very well. From the beginning, the match was focused on who was going to be the first, who was going to take the initiative, who was going to dictate the game more aggressively.
We both wanted to lead with the forehand, so it was just a question of who would be the first to do it,” said the Russian. The Muscovite tennis player averaged an impressive 81% (29/36) of points on his first serve, but was also able to respond in a big way.
“The return here is one of the most important things. You have to be able to respond as many times as you can [on the court], especially with these conditions, since it is difficult to serve at certain times. This applies to everyone “Next, Rublev reflected on the shots he needs to improve.
“Of course, besides that I try to improve everything. I try to improve my backhand so I can play more aggressive. I try to improve my defense. Sometimes, if I don’t feel the ball well, I can play half speed and run, defensively, because you have to have a plan B in case plan A doesn’t work.
Of course, I try to improve my serve. Fly.”
Rafa Nadal looks in top form
Following his semifinal win at the Indian Wells Masters 1000, Rafael Nadal opened up about the extreme weather conditions that made it almost impossible for the players to play.
Answering the question with complete authority, Nadal put forward his views about the non-existence of rules for situations of extreme weather conditions. “The problem in tennis is that we don’t have a ruling for that.
There is no ruling for wind. There is no ruling saying after ‘x’ miles an hour we suspend the match. I’ll tell you one thing. I enjoy a lot of times playing in the wind because for me it’s like a challenge.
It’s like playing golf with a lot of wind. You know you’re going to have mistakes, the level will not be that high, but it’s about trying to find solutions all the time. The only thing I don’t enjoy is when we have to stop all the time because some papers are in, then the net is moving, then the towel is flying. So then it becomes unplayable for me”.