‘Not Novak!’ – Andrey Rublev admits ‘no one wants to face Novak Djokovic’ ahead of Australian Open clash

Andrey Rublev has admitted that “no one wants to face” Novak Djokovic ahead of the pair’s Australian Open quarter-final at Melbourne Park.

Rublev saved two match points in a dramatic final set before forcing a tie-break, where he also found himself 5-0 down to Rune. He fought his way back into the tie-break and booked a place in the quarter-finals by converting his third match point.

“No one wants to face Novak,” Rublev said after defeating Rune in the previous round.

“I prefer to be in any other part of the draw – but not Novak!”

Speaking about the win over Rune, he added: “In my life, I was never able to win matches like this, and this was the first time that I won something like this.

“Especially in a very special tournament like the Australian Open, to be in a quarter-final, so it is something that I will remember for sure for my whole life. I don’t know man, I’m shaking a bit.

“I’m just happy that I was able to win this match, so we will see what is going to happen next.”

Meanwhile, the ever-entertaining Rublev had the Eurosport studio in stitches with an amazing debrief about his victory over Rune.

“First of all, actually in the fourth set, when I lost my serve at 5-4, losing two balls that were quite easy, I was already thinking that it’s going to be tough,” said Rublev.

“Then, when the fifth set starts, and he starts to hit just full power, everything – return, serve – I started to feel a lot of pressure.

“In the end, when he broke me, I was thinking it’s over, completely over, and maybe somehow, I relieve myself by thinking this way, and in the end at 5-3, I was able to play a really focused game, and plus of course, he [got] a bit tight, which is normal, so I was able to [break] him.

“When it was 6-5 and he had two match points, I was thinking inside, ‘I will make it – I don’t know, I will save them and I will go to the tie-break’.”

Asked by Eurosport’s Barbara Schett if his performance was perfect, Djokovic said: “Close to I think, there’s not much to say about my performance.

“It was almost flawless really, from the beginning I was locked in. I felt great with my leg today, the best I have felt this tournament and I felt more free to move around.

“I knew what to expect with the crowd, the atmosphere and De Minaur – even though I’d never faced him, I kind of knew what the game plan needed to be.

“I knew I needed to stay aggressive and take the time away from him because he’s one of the quickest players on the tour. From the beginning to the last point, great, really, really great, I played well so I’m happy.”

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