Just over a week left until the start of the Australian Open. Now Andrey Rublev is preparing for the first Grand Slam tournament at the ATP tournament in Hong Kong. The Russian made it to the final, not without problems, where he received strong support from the fans.

It’s for this character that the whole world loves Andrei!

“I thought I had no chance”

Many tennis players use the early January tournaments to warm up before the start of the Australian Open after a short winter break. Rublev chose Hong Kong for preparation. This tournament is being held for the first time since 2002. Andrei was accompanied by many star tennis players, for example, compatriot Karen Khachanov and American Francis Tiafoe.

All the matches turned out to be difficult for the Russian, despite the modest opposition. Rublev missed the first round game, but already experienced the first problems in the 1/8 finals. It took the Russian almost two hours to break the resistance of a very mediocre tennis player from Great Britain, Liam Brodie – 6:4; 7:6 (10:8). In the quarterfinals, Andrei fought three sets with the 36th racket of the world, Frenchman Arthur Fils – 6:4; 1:6; 6:2.

Many experts expected an easy victory for Rublev in the match with 18-year-old Chinese Shang Juncheng, who before the tournament in Hong Kong was only 183rd in the ATP rankings. The latest results of the representative of the Celestial Empire caused certain concerns. He knocked out three strong players from the tournament at once: Tiafoe, Laszlo Djere and Botik van de Zandschulp.

In the very first game, it became clear that Rublev would face a difficult test. Shang Juncheng made a break, and Andrey gave vent to his emotions. The Russian was angered by the line judge’s mistake, which had to be corrected using video review.

In the eighth game, Rublev had a chance to make a reverse break, but he missed it. His knee had to take the rap, which was once again hit by the racket. As a result, the first set went to the Chinese player – 6:4. Confused Andrei was already preparing for defeat.

“He’s super talented, powerful and played incredibly.” At some moments I thought I had no chance. He dominated, and I didn’t know what to do,” the ATP website quotes Rublev as saying.

In the second game, Andrey finally pulled himself together, which doesn’t always happen to him. The percentage of wins on his serve increased significantly, but the young Chinese dropped sharply, losing 2:6. In the decisive period, the Russian was again better – 6:3. Thanks to this, he reached the final, where he will meet with Finn Emil Ruusuvuori.

Andrey Rublev / Photo: © Gaspafotos / MB Media / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Fighting for fans’ wishes

The fanaticism of Asian fans is well known. After the semi-final, the Russian’s army of loyal fans in Hong Kong is bound to increase. First, Andrey took a group selfie with the spectators in the stands, and then went to win their hearts in the room under the stands.

Fans gathered there who wanted to get an autograph from the Russian star. Many in Rublev’s place would have gone further, but not Andrey. He wanted to thank admirers of the talent for their support. This turned out to be difficult. The Chinese security representative refused to allow the Russian to see the fans. I had to ask for permission for a long time.

The conversation frankly didn’t go well; the language barrier got in the way. Andrei even had to ask the fans to be silent, who were constantly shouting his name. In the end, Rublev still managed to get 10 minutes for an autograph session.

Andrey Rublev / Photo: © Eurasia Sport Images / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Such caring behavior of the Russian will certainly provide him with significant support in the confrontation with Ruusuvuori. The final will take place on January 7.