"I feel more freedom when he was not there": Andrey Rublev jokingly responds to Rafael Nadal's 2024 comeback

Andrey Rublev joked that he had more freedom when Rafael Nadal was not on the ATP Tour as he commented on the comeback plans of the legendary Spaniard.

Nadal will be in action at the 2024 Brisbane International after spending nearly all of 2023 out injured since the Australian Open and the discourse surrounding him has been one of one final shot before he retires from the sport. He recently returned to practice with Arthur Fils sending Ivan Ljubicic a text message with a glowing review about his current game.

Back to Rublev though who is currently playing at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London and he discussed Nadal's return and joked that his freedom goes when he is on court. But that the sport benefits from having him around in terms of eyes on the product in particular. He also said that he is looking forward to seeing him play against Novak Djokovic as the remaining two protagonists of the Big Three clash likely for the final times on court.

"I'm happy for him that finally he's back. But obviously as a competitor, I feel more freedom when he was not there. For tennis, it's great that he's back. He will bring back a lot of spectators, a lot of followers, especially, again back for the tie between him and Novak (Djokovic) will bring a lot of attention again to tennis. So, it's amazing that he's back," Rublev said.