Andrey Rublev ahead of clash with Aslan Karatsev 'Just need to play my game'

Andrey Rublev is set to play Aslan Karatsev in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships after defeating Marton Fucsovics in the quarterfinals.

It has been a stellar opening of the season for Andrey Rublev and it has been an even better run at the ATP 500 level. The Russian has now won 23 matches in a row at ATP 500 events and while leaving the court after the match Fuscovics jokingly said to him: "I hope I don't play you anymore this year"

The Hungarian lost to Rublev for a 2nd time this year after the Rotterdam final loss and after the match, Rublev was asked about the joking remark of Fucsovics to which he replied:

"I have really great connection with Marton and we are good friends on Tour. I have a huge respect for him. All the matches that we've played each other were drama matches. We just smiled because we always have tough matches against each other. It's not easy to play each other."

He is set to face Aslan Karatsev for a place in the final a few days after they won the doubles title in Doha, They know each other fairly well and have teamed up in doubles several times including for Russia at the ATP Cup. Speaking on that match Rublev said:

"I just need to play my game, nothing more special. I don't know why, but I'm really excited to play this match because Aslan is playing really well now. He's full of confidence and I want to see how he's playing. I want to challenge myself because he's winning really great matches."

The match is set to start at 16:00 CET and don't miss a thing from by clicking here!