"Of course, that's not the way I wanted to win," Rublev reflects on Davidovich Fokina's retirement

Two points away from defeat against Davidovich Fokina in the Toronto Round of 16 (trailing 7-6, 5-4, and 0-30 on his serve), Rublev managed to turn the match around and won after the Spaniard retired. Asked about the unfortunate incident in the post-match press conference, he said:

"It was a tough match. I think the level was high. The conditions weren’t easy—there was a lot of wind—and he was playing really well. The way I won, of course, isn’t how I wanted to win. But we played for two and a half hours, and for me, that was more than enough.

"If we had kept playing, we might have gone over three hours, so I’ll take two and a half. So yeah, I’d like to rest, recover as much as possible, and be ready for the next match."

Regarding how he fought his way back into the match, the Russian added:

"I told myself, ‘Okay, let’s try to win one point.’ And I did. Then I remember at 15-30, it was a tough point for me because I played very aggressively—more than usual—and moved forward to the net. I managed to place the volley really well. That gave me a bit of confidence, and by 30-30, I already felt better."

Now through to the quarterfinals, he will face American Fritz next.