Andre Rublev, the world number 39, had a breakout year in 2017. He reached the first ever ATP Next Gen finals. He had won his first title back in 2016 in Umag. Rublev had begun his 2018 campaign at the Qatar open in Doha. However, he was defeated in the finals of the Qatar open by Gael Monfils in the last week. Nevertheless, he was happy with his performance and looks forward to compete in the first slam of the year.

He was asked about his plans and goals for the 2018 season, in an exclusive interview for the Marca in Doha. Rublev said,”I try not to set goals. The only thing I think about is to get the job done as best as possible every day and improve in all the aspects. When you set something and you don’t achieve it, you get frustrated.’

With the new on-court coaching rules and the stop clock in between points being used in a lot of tournaments, Rublev was asked what he thought about the changes that tennis was undergoing. “I like rules that do not affect tennis like the on-court shot clock that they will introduce in Australia”, said Rublev. He was also asked about the phenomenal season that Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had in 2018. ‘I always thought that Rafa would win again after all the problems he had. And Federer is the best ever. They have changed tennis and continue to be the best.” However, Andrey Rublev also believes that they can be bested and that it is just a matter of time before other youngsters rise up to the occasion. “I am sure that in the future there will be someone better than them. In tennis, it has always been like this. It may take a lot of time but there will be replacements.”