"He just killed me because I was not able to put two balls over the net" - Andrey Rublev about five-set thriller against Coleman Wong

Russia’s Andrey Rublev is expecting a ‘tough’ match against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the fourth round of the US Open. The 27-year-old cemented his spot in the last 16 after beating Coleman Wong in a five-set thriller with a score of 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

His next round opponent will be Canada’s Auger-Aliassime, who secured his spot in the next round after upsetting the number three seed, Germany’s Alexander Zverev, in the third round with a score of 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-4. It will be the eighth meeting between the two players in professional tennis.

In the previous seven meetings, Rublev had a clear advantage, coming out on top on seven occasions. Rublev is on a five-match winning streak against Auger-Aliassime. His only defeat came against the Canadian tennis star in the semifinal of the ATP event in Rotterdam, where Auger-Aliassime came out on top 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. Despite having a clear edge over Auger-Aliassime, Rublev is expecting a tough outing against him in the fourth round of the fourth and final Grand Slam of the year.

While speaking to the media after securing his third-round win, Rublev praised Auger-Aliassime’s serve and forehand and stated that in order to come out on top against an opponent like him, a player must stay very ‘patient’. “He [Auger-Aliassime] has really good serve and very good forehand,” said Rublev. “You need to be really patient and wait for a moment because all the matches that I played with Felix were tough. It was a three-set battle always. I don't know, 6-4, 7-5, 4-7, 6-6 and a third and stuff like that. It's not easy because to play against them, you need to play really well.”

During the same press conference, Rublev was asked about his level of satisfaction with his performance in the match. In response, Rublev stated that he was pleased to come out on top in a match that turned out to be ‘really tough’. Rublev also praised his opponent on the day and stated that Won played ‘unbelievable’ tennis.

“It was a really tough match,” said Rublev. “Obviously, Wong was playing unbelievable. He was playing aggressive, serving well, going for the shots. The first set I couldn't play, I didn't start well. He just killed me because I was not able to put two balls over the net. Little by little, I started to talk a bit in an aggressive way to myself to wake up. I screamed to myself, it's time, you need to go for it, it doesn't matter. At least I started to be able to play the rally and stuff like that, to be able to return more balls, to at least defend a bit better. Sometimes serves started to work as well. Little by little, I was able to turn around the match. The match was close, but in the end, the game that I was able to break him, I did well. I did some good returns, played a bit more aggressive. It helped me in the end to break him, and then I was able to hold my serve.”

Rublev has had an impressive record while playing at the US Open. It is the Grand Slam where he has the highest win percentage as he won 73 per cent of his matches while playing at the Flashing Meadows. Rublev has featured in the quarterfinals on four occasions at the US Open, the most out of all the Grand Slams. The Moscow-born tennis player was asked about what makes him produce his best tennis in New York. In response to that, Rublev stated that he has no idea but admits that US Open remains his ‘favourite’ tournament.

“I don't know, to be honest,” said Rublev. “I guess it just happened. No explanation, because I feel more or less the same in all the slams. It's true here, I think I did the most quarterfinals out of all slams that I played. It seems that something here fits me. I don't know. I don't have an explanation, but by the results, yes, the US Open is my favorite one.To be honest, I like all the slams. All the energy is special, and all the slams are different, and all of them are special. I don't know, to be honest. By the results, it's my favorite tournament. By the feeling, more or less, I enjoy all the slams. More or less, in all the slams, I'm feeling the same way. Some matches better, some matches worse. Some moments more tight, some moments more positive. In the end, I did all of them quarterfinals, at least in all of them. But like I said, in the end, US Open, I did the most quarterfinals.”