"I started telling Andrey some funny nonsense" - Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on how she made Andrey Rublev smile at the Tokyo Olympics
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova recently revealed how she managed to bring a smile to Andrey Rublev's face during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. While Rublev is known for his serious attitude on and off the court, he was spotted laughing and having fun with Pavlyuchenkova.
Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova bagged the gold medal for the Russian Olympic Committee in the mixed doubles category. They beat their compatriots Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev in the finals.
What was surprising about their triumph was the fact that neither of them had enjoyed much success in the doubles category. Their first round match in Tokyo was the first time they played together as a pair.
In a recent interview, Pavlyuchenkova revealed that during the pair's first match in Tokyo the mood was "super serious." In order to change this, she had to bring "some emotion and playfulness."
Russian to a mixed doubles gold medal 🇷🇺🥇
Congratulations to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova & Andrey Rublev!
#Tokyo2020 #Olympics #Tennis https://t.co/u0Owr1rPUr
"Actually, I am a very serious and responsible person myself. But I have two sides, have some devil in me. I need some emotion and playfulness. I always need this playfulness in life. During the first match, I realized that the mood is super serious, and we're losing in points. I looked at Andrey and see, and he confirmed this later that the first match was hard for him, he was very uptight. It was hard for me too, of course," admitted Pavlyuchenkova in the interview.
Pavlyuchenkova finished runner-up at the 2021 Roland Garros and she emphasized that her former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, taught her to be serious on the court. However, she encouraged Rublev to smile and laugh more often, which ultimately helped them both.
Pavlyuchenkova saved a match point for the 2nd match in a row with clutch play. Rublev knows how to show his appreciation. https://t.co/40V9R6HUCW
"I decided to lighten the mood, because I know that especially, at mixed doubles, it's very easy to go downhill together and we were slowly getting there... You know Patrick and others used to tell me I should be serious on the court because if I'm serious, I want to win," added the Russian player.
"So what, if I smile, I don't win? So, if we smile and laugh with Andrey, we don't care about the game. Something like that. It is (a stereotype). People get this impression. I don't care for their emotion though, for me, result is what matters the most," continued the 30-year-old.
In the interview, Pavlyuchenkova also recalled telling Rublev "funny nonsense" to make him laugh. She even emphasized that during every changeover, she encouraged the youngster not to worry but just to enjoy the sport.
"I started telling Andrey some funny nonsense. To be honest, I always speak nonsense in person, that's my thing. So at every switchover, I kept telling him not to worry and enjoy himself...Eventually, with each match, we became more and more confident in our teamplay," concluded Pavlyuchenkova.
Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova are the first Russians to win a gold medal in the mixed doubles category in tennis
Andrey Rublev and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova created history at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. They became the first-ever Russian pair to bag a gold medal in the mixed-doubles category of tennis at the Olympic Games.
Even though tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988, the mixed-doubles category was introduced nine years back. Thus, the 2020 edition was the seventh appearance of the mixed doubles tennis event at the Olympic Games since its inception in 1896.
Andrey Rublev 🇷🇺
Olympic medals
Gold 🥇
With Pavlyuchenkova mixed doubles
2020 Tokyo Olympics
Silver 🥈
With Khachanov doubles
2014 Youth Olympics
Bronze 🥉
Singles
2014 Youth Olympics https://t.co/mfD8qbtUDz
This was a double delight for the Russian fans in Tokyo as Aslan Karatsev and Elena Vesnina, bagged the silver medal after losing to Pavlyuchenkova and Rublev in the final.
After their triumph at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, it will be intriguing to see if Rublev and Pavlyuchenkova ever combine to play mixed doubles again.
Also Read: Andrey Rublev & Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova steal the show at Olympics 2021 with their wildly entertaining reactions in mixed doubles