"Tough to beat them" - Wilander praises Medvedev and Rublev for their focus

Being a Russian tennis player right now is very tricky and that's why Mats Wilander has been so impressed with both the focus of Medvedev and Rublev at Roland Garros.

In an exclusive interview with Unitennis.net Wilander talked about Roland Garros singling out praise for both Medvedev and Rublev. Talking about Rublev facing Sinner later today, he said:

"Rublev is tough. I think Jannik has a good chance at some point to be maybe in the top five. But Rublev right now is mentally in a different place. Of course he doesn’t (have the variety in his game) but sometimes that is also a strength."

He continued:

"It is simpler to play when you don’t have the variety and when you have a reason to be extremely focused because of the situation in the rest of the world. It’s a very nice place to be on the tennis court right now when you play in a Grand Slam and you’re not representing your country. It is like a safe place.”

The he turned his attention to Medvedev. The Russian has been equally impressive and Wilander noticed:

“The same thing applies with Daniil (Medvedev). I think what’s going on in the world has a lot to do with how players react on the court. I think for them (Rublev and Medvedev) it is such a serious situation. I think they are going to die an ‘athlete’s death’ on the court. It’s going to be tough to beat them."

Both of them play later today at the French Open. Rublev plays Sinner and Medvedev takes on Cilic at the night session.