Rublev after his defeat in Montpellier: "My level is far from that of a top 10 player".

Things aren't getting any better for Andrey Rublev. The Russian, who is in a slump in terms of results and was eliminated at the start of the Australian Open, decided to enter the ATP 250 tournament in Montpellier to regain his confidence.

After wins over Christopher Eubanks (6-4, 6-3) and Nikoloz Basilashvili (5-2 ab.), the Russian came up against Aleksandar Kovacevic (7-5, 6-4) and will not be playing in the final in Hérault.

In a press conference, the world's 10th-ranked player explained the reasons for his defeat.

"Every time we lose, it's never easy, but that's the way it is. The most important thing is that I managed to stay calm. I fought right to the end.

Now I can talk more about my match than my behavior, and that's good. We'll see, but little by little I'm starting to get my feelings back.

Of course, today was a good match, but my level is far from that of a top-10 player. And that's just the way it is. He played a good match, he deserved to win, he played much more freely than I did.

I don't know if this defeat is due to my lack of matches, honestly. A defeat is a defeat, there are no explanations.

If you lose, it's because you weren't as good as the other guy and he was better than you," he said, according to Le Midi Libre.