World number six Andrey Rublev revealed his loss to Adrian Mannarino at the Kremlin Cup left him ‘completely devastated.’
Rublev entered the tournament as the defending champion, but he suffered a shock defeat to the Frenchman, who saved a match point to claim an impressive 5-7, 7-6, 6-4 success.
He was then scheduled to partner with Karen Khachanov in the doubles against Matwe Middlekoop and Harri Heliovaara, but he suffered disappointment in that too, losing 4-6, 6-2, 10-7.
Asked after the doubles match if his loss to Mannarino affected him, Rublev said: “Oh for sure.
“I couldn’t play doubles at all. It was played by Karen on his own,” said Rublev.
“I was completely devastated, emotionless, depressed and in bad thoughts. I pulled everything down, and Karen pulled it out.”
🎾 #TennisExtra
💪 Adrian Mannarino a réalisé la performance de la semaine, en sortant Andrey Rublev, 6e joueur mondial et tête de série n°1, (5-7, 7-6 [4], 6-3) à Moscou ! pic.twitter.com/lOUwBkbyMT— beIN SPORTS (@beinsports_FR) October 21, 2021
What the experience has done, though, is help Rublev identify that he needs to develop mentally now rather than technically if he wants to take the next step in his career.
“I think this is the main [thing] in my case, because the players who are better than me, they know how to manage all these moments much better than me.”
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