Andrey Rublev is happy with the improvement of his game after made a comeback from a lower back stress fracture and a right wrist injury. Rublev suffered a drastic dip in form after his injury but he wasn't concerned as he just wanted to be playing.
And he's now happy with his improvement as he's finally hitting top form again.
“I appreciated everything I had after the second injury,” Rublev told ATPTour.com at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. “I didn’t play for a while and I played my first match back in Halle. And I lost in the first round of qualifying, a dramatic match 7-6 in the third set [to then World No. 223 Mats Moraing]. I was up with a break. I was playing so badly. And I remember after that match I was a little bit disappointed, but not as much as before.
“But I said, ‘Finally, I’m playing’. Even though I was playing badly, I enjoyed that moment. Even playing like that, I wanted to play. After that I appreciated what I had, I won one round at Wimbledon and took steps forward. Little by little. I finished the season well.
The current world no 15 said he's a completely different player on court. While Rublev is calmer in life, there's a totally different side of him that he unleashes when playing.
“In life, it’s tough to make me mad. I’m energetic, but inside I’m calmer. On court, I’m completely different and can start to get mad or upset. When I need to compete, I show a different mad, a negative side.
"I need what I have in normal life, on the court. Everyone understands you need to be calm and positive to do your best, but in the end you have to be strong and smart enough.”
[embed]http://twitter.com/AndreyRublev97/status/1226212065465028610[/embed]