Andrey Rublev says Novak Djokovic has “a perfect game” and highlighted it’s scary knowing that the Serb “does not really lose in Grand Slams.” Rublev, ranked at No 7 in the world, defeated Andrey Bublik to set up a Wimbledon quarterfinal against Djokovic. Earlier this year, Rublev was ousted by Djokovic in the Australian Open quarterfinal as the Serb handed the Russian a 6-1 6-2 6-4 loss. After easily losing to Djokovic at the Australian Open, Rublev played better against Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinal but the 23-time Grand Slam champion still beat the Russian 4-6 6-1 6-4 6-3.
“That he’s one of the best. He doesn’t really lose this year, especially on slams. All the slams that he played, he won. Those are the toughest things,” Rublev said.
Rublev: Djokovic has a perfect game
On Tuesday, Rublev and Djokovic had their fourth meeting. Now, Djokovic has a 4-1 head-to-head against Rublev.
“The game? The thing is he has a perfect game because he really, really has really good legs. He really knows how to use the speed of the players. Sometimes as hard as you play to him, is more comfortable also for him. With the legs, with his legs, he’s using your speed and he’s playing without mistakes. In the end, he’s forcing you to go for extra shots and you are missing. Then he serves really, really good. He serves in all directions, close to the lines, with a very high first-serve percentage. It’s, like, tough to break him. Then you have the guy who returns almost everything with amazing legs. You have to play a really, really great match,” Rublev explained.
Rublev, 25, was playing in his eighth Grand Slam quarterfinal. Reaching a Grand Slam quarterfinal is not an issue for Rublev but winning there has been a problem as the Russian is 0-8 in his eight Slam quarterfinals. For Rublev, it must be pretty heartbreaking and devastating that he is constantly failing to make that additional step in Grand Slams.
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