World No. 6 Andrey Rublev got off to the best possible start at the Australian Open with a commanding 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 win over Italy’s Gianluca Mager on Tuesday.
Rublev his 31 winners and made only 13 errors in the 84 minutes on court.
The young Russian was ruled out of the ATP Cup with a positive Covid test and said before the match he still felt tired.
“Of course I would have preferred to play ATP Cup, to feel already these emotions, the nerves during the match, to feel this winning feeling,” he said after the match.
“Of course it’s not easy when you’re not playing for a couple of weeks and you go straight into one of the best tournaments.
“You feel a bit double pressure because you don’t know how it’s going to be. But this is life, you cannot control it.”
