"Novak Djokovic is one of the greatest; every tournament that he plays, he's the favorite" – Andrey Rublev
Andrey Rublev has called Novak Djokovic one of the greatest tennis players ever.
The two locked horns in the ATP Finals in Turin, with Djokovic winning in straight sets; 6-4, 6-1. Rublev said in his post-match press conference that he had completely burned out in the second set:
"I think today the match was only one set because in the second, I completely burned out. There was not even tennis. Everything was clear. The first set, like you said, the most tough to face against Novak, especially on this surface that we are playing here, is his serve."
The Russian continued:
"The way he serves is really high percentage...everything really close to the lines. I didn't even have a chance to do something. Maybe there was one 30-All, 15-All, but nothing special, yeah."
Rublev also said that the 35-year-old and Rafael Nadal are always the favorites in whichever tournament they compete in. He also called the Serb one of the greatest players:
"Novak and Rafa, they always favorite no matter the tournament they playing. Everyone expects them to do final always between them. I mean, the rest, I don't even know what to say because Novak is one of the greatest. Every tournament that he plays, he's the favorite."
Novak Djokovic will play his final round-robin match of the ATP Finals against Daniil Medvedev
Novak Djokovic's final round-robin match will be against Daniil Medvedev. It will be their second meeting of the season, having previously locked horns in the semifinals of the Astana Open.
Medvedev won the opening set in that meeting, but Djokovic bounced back to win the second. However, the Russian was forced to retire due to an injury, thus propelling the Serb to the final, where he beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Elsewhere in the ATP Finals, Rafael Nadal was knocked out of the tournament after he lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime and Casper Ruud beat Taylor Fritz. The Spaniard will play his last match of the season against Ruud and will look to salvage pride.
Djokovic looks in good form and will be eager to top his group by defeating Medvedev. The Serb has a fair chance of winning the ATP Finals and could equal Roger Federer's record of six titles if he comes out on top.