After advancing to the finals of the Dubai tournament, they both wrote the request “no war” on camera. Jiří Veselý and Andrej Rubljov are experiencing a lifetime tennis ride and will compete for a big trophy on Saturday. But the Russian has fragmented thoughts, receiving hate messages on social networks because he comes from a country that has been attacking Ukraine since this week.
While Veselý already has a six-match line of victory in his back after a successful qualification, Rublyov has held the invincibility for eight games in combination with the title stand in Marseille.
In one, the Czech and Russian tennis players agree before the final. They remotely condemn Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine at every opportunity. Whether it’s drawing a winning message on camera or at subsequent press conferences, they will never forget to mention how the situation in Eastern Europe is shaking with them.
Even so, Rublyov cannot avoid thunder and lightning because of his background. “I get aggressive and hateful messages on Instagram because I’m Russian. But I can’t take the steps of my government,” he shrugs.
The only thing he can do in such a situation is to concentrate on tennis, which he succeeds in. He won a double in Marseille last week, won singles and doubles, and is now in the finals again in Dubai.
“There is no point in answering such people because I would fall to their level and encourage further aggression, since I am not here, I want to promote peace,” added the seventh player in the world.
Although he probably has a life form, he cannot rejoice fully. “You realize that a tennis match is worthless at all compared to this. It’s crazy what’s going on,” he sadly.
However, he does not have much time for negative emotions; on Saturday, after 4 pm Central European Time, he will compete with the Czech giant Jiří Veselý.
“I don’t know him at all, I don’t know how he plays. We trained together once, but it’s been a long time. I saw his match against Djokovic and he played great in it, but he has a bad day on Saturday,” the Moscow native joked.
Veselý enjoys the ride of his life, he has a whole family in Dubai and it is not enough to wonder who he has already managed to beat in the Emirates. In addition to world number one, he also swept fourteen Denise Shapovalov, fifteen Robert Bautista-Augut and US Open winner Marina Čilič.
“That’s my style. I’ll beat the best players in the world and then break into the boys in the second or third hundred. What’s going on here is amazing. But I haven’t jumped yet, I hope to play even better tomorrow.” said the Czech tennis player.
While Rubljov did not know the final opponent very well, Veselý knows very well with whom he will be honored in the fight for the title.
“He plays very fast, his every shot will fly a lot and you probably can’t expect long exchanges. I have to pull out hard service and take chances. I definitely have nothing to lose, he’s the favorite,” Vesely knows.
–
