"I don’t want to play Novak Djokovic next time": Andrey Rublev makes honest admission after 2023 Paris Masters defeat

Andrey Rublev made an honest admission after losing to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the 2023 Paris Masters.

World No. 5 Rublev has had a strong season on the ATP Tour, having recently reached the semi-finals of the Vienna Open and the Shanghai Masters final, where he finished as runner-up to Hubert Hurkacz. This consistent success has helped him to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, which will take place later this month.

However, the 26-year-old was unable to pull off a win against World No. 1 Djokovic in their semi-final clash in Paris. Earlier in the tournament, Rublev had moved past Yoshihito Nishioka, Botic van de Zandschulp, and Alex de Minaur, before locking horns with Djokovic in a three-set battle.

After Djokovic prevailed in their clash 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-5, Rublev was asked about his chances against the 24-time Grand Slam champion in the future, to which he responded by saying that he would prefer to avoid another clash with Djokovic altogether, highlighting how hard it is to defeat him.

"No, no, no. I don’t want to play him next time. That’s all I want," Rublev said (via The Express).

Nevertheless, the Russian seems to have left the tournament with a lot of positives and expressed that he was happy with how he played.

"I feel like, I don’t know, it’s been a great week. I was playing really great level, I was controlling really good emotions so looks like I’m moving in the right direction and the most important thing is to just keep going this way," he continued.

Moreover, Djokovic praised Rublev for his ability after their clash, using an interesting metaphor to highlight how much the latter had challenged him.

"Rublev was suffocating me like a snake suffocates a frog for most of the match. He was playing at an extremely high level. I knew he possessed a great quality, but today he played off the charts. I don’t think I’ve ever faced Rublev this good," he said.