Speaking at a press conference after his victory over Dan Evans in the first round of the Dubai Tennis Championships, the World No. 7 remarked that tennis is going through its best ever period at the moment. He attributed the sport’s current popularity to the unparalleled dominance of the Big 3.
The 24-year-old is of the opinion that a large number of fans took a liking to the sport only after the experience of watching Federer, Nadal and Djokovic play match after match against each other in Grand Slams.
For the record, Federer, Djokovic and Nadal have played 148 matches against each other in total. Out of them, 48 have come in Grand Slams and 23 have been in the final.
Nadal currently has 21 Grand Slam titles to his name, while Federer and Djokovic are tied at 20 apiece. Rublev, for his part, said he was captivated by the Slam race and couldn’t wait to see who would eventually come out on top.
“More people follow tennis in Russia now, this is something that wouldn’t normally happen in the past” - Andrey Rublev on the extent to which Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have changed the game
During the press conference, Andrey Rublev also revealed that he was quite popular in his home country of Russia. But he was quick to suggest that it was only because Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had reignited an interest in the sport.
The Russian contended that tennis was never as widely followed before the advent of the Big 3 era.
The World No. 7 also feels the presence of the Big 3 has ensured that the young guns have raised their own level of play to stay competitive. Rublev was also hopeful that fans would start following the Next Gen with gusto in the future.
Rublev will take on Kwon Son-woo in the last 16 in Dubai on Wednesday.
0 votes
