Russian professional tennis player Andrey Rublev has made giant strides this season. He won 3 ATP singles titles this year. He also qualified for the 2022 ATP Finals tournament for the first time. Here, he defeated Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas to reach the semi-finals round of the tournament.
But the Russian also had to deal with many issues this year as he tried to make this season memorable. The Russian invasion of Ukraine led to criticism from both mainstream media and social media. The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club went a step further and banned all Russian and Belarusian players from participating in Wimbledon.
Marina Marenko, mother of World No.8 has called her son ‘a hero’. Andrey Rublev had signed with the message “No War Please” on the camera lens during the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
“Political events made themselves felt during the tournaments. Andrey was ready for anything, but not for this. I had to act on the go in order to somehow remain psychologically stable. Andrey is a real hero, I am very proud of him. He accepted all external and internal problems courageously,” she said as reported by The Express.
She is happy with her son’s successes but believes the results would have been much better if not for all the negative media spotlight on her son.
“The year for Andrey was very difficult – there was a lot of pressure from the public, the media and journalists. If this whole situation did not exist, then, of course, the results would be more successful,” she continued.
“Post-match press conferences were given to Andrey hard. The journalists tried in every possible way to provoke, and this put pressure on the still fragile psyche of my son,” she further added.
Andrey Rublev will be looking to make better his stats in the next season and will try to win the first Grand Slam title of his career.
What to expect from Andrey Rublev in 2023 season?
Andrey Rublev won against all odds against the Top seeds this season. He defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime and Novak Djokovic in the final matches of the Open 13 Provence and Serbia Open tournaments to clinch the titles. He defeated Cameron Norrie in the Quarter-finals round of the US Open. He also defeated Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas in his maiden ATP Finals tournament this year.
Describing his approach this season, his mother praised his mental fortitude.
“Absolutely without fear approached matches with opponents of different sizes. Yes, at some points it was very difficult, but he was able to overcome difficulties. During the season, he didn’t lose a single simple match, all the matches were very close. I am very happy with the season. Andrey will only get stronger,” she said.
Andrey Rublev is expected to play well in all competitions in the 2023 season. He is still chasing his first Grand Slam title. Maybe this is the year for the Russian to shine and shine he can as early as the upcoming month by winning the Australian Open 2023 title.
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