(Reuters) – Andrey Rublev said he disagrees with Stefanos Tsitsipas’ assessment of him as a player with “few tools” following a come-from-behind victory over the Greek in the ATP Finals on Friday.
Rublev fought back from a set down to beat world number three Tsitsipas 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the round-robin stage of the season-ending championship.
In his post-match news conference, Tsitsipas said that he “didn’t really feel threatened” at any point of the match.
“I just wanted to try something new, to see if it might work, throw him off a little bit,” Tsitsipas told reporters.
“It’s a shame. I feel like the better player. I felt like I could do more with the ball today. I felt like I could just be much more creative. I don’t even have to say that. I think it’s quite obvious.
“But, yeah, he prevailed with the few tools that he has. He was able to really take advantage of them and win today.”
The victory marked Rublev’s first over Tsitsipas in 2022, with Tsitsipas having beaten him in Astana in October and Madrid in May.
When asked about Tsitsipas’ comments, Rublev told reporters, “I don’t know if I have few tools or not.”
“If we go shot by shot, I think his backhand is better than mine. His forehand is not better than mine. The speed serve is not better than mine,” the seventh-ranked Russian said.
“Obviously he’s a better player because he’s higher ranked and he achieved better results.
“But I don’t think that I beat him because of few tools. If you take our match, every match, we have tough battles. This year I lost to him twice in three sets, and now I beat him in three sets.”
Next up for Rublev is a semi-final against Norway’s Casper Ruud.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Tom Hogue)
