In a stunning upset at the 2019 Cincinnati Masters, Andrey Rublev shocked the tennis world with a remarkable victory over the legendary Roger Federer. Recounting the momentous match, Rublev expressed that it felt like a fairytale, acknowledging that the stars had aligned for his improbable win.
“Against Federer, it was like a fairy tale, unreal. How it all came together. And it was my first big win. It was a fairy tale, all stars aligned. Something like that happens every 700 years, like an asteroid,” Rublev shared in an interview with the Russian YouTube channel “More!”
The Russian player vividly remembered the circumstances leading up to the match, highlighting that he wasn’t originally scheduled to play, entering as the last alternate with a shaky racket handle. Despite previous struggles against players like Mikhail Kukushkin and Nikoloz Basilashvili, Rublev emerged victorious against the tennis icon Federer.
“I played against a player I always lost to. I lost to Kukushkin 3-4 times that year. I lost to Basilashvili a couple of times and in the Hamburg final, Wawrinka always beat me easily. And I’ve beat the first, the second, and the third, and it’s Federer,” Rublev reflected.
Describing the match as perfect and almost unreal, Rublev admitted to feeling unprepared at the time. Despite early setbacks in the match, Rublev showcased exceptional performance, likening his mental state to that of Rafael Nadal.
“I hated the racket I was playing with, but didn’t matter what I was doing, it all went in, everything. Impossible serves, that never happened before, an unexplained second serve that he couldn’t attack, returns, volleys that stayed in with some kind of magic, and mentally it was like I was Nadal,” Rublev recalled.
The victory over Federer marked a turning point in Rublev’s career, a moment etched in tennis history as a fairytale performance against one of the all-time greats.
