Novak Djokovic wished Andrei Rublev to return to Belgrade and defend the title
Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic turned to the Russian Andrey Rublev, who defeated him in the final of the tournament of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) in Belgrade. His words are quoted by Championship.com.
“You are a wonderful champion, a wonderful guy. Belgrade and Serbia love you,” he said. Djokovic wished Rublev to return to Belgrade and defend the title next year.
Earlier, the head of the Russian Tennis Federation, Shamil Tarpishchev, praised Rublev’s victory. “It so happened that both in the final and in the semi-final it was possible to cheer for any of the athletes. We played with Djokovic,” he said. Tarpishchev noted that Russian athletes felt at home at the tournament in the capital of Serbia.
In the final match of the tournament, Rublev beat the world No. 1 in three sets. The meeting lasted 2 hours 29 minutes and ended with the score 6:2, 6:7 (4:7), 6:0. This victory was the 11th for the Russian at the ATP tournaments.
Source: Lenta
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