“Not on That Level”: Andrey Rublev Drops Blunt Confession After Barcelona Open Loss

The scoreboard at the Barcelona Open final told only half the story for Andrey Rublev. He was handed a convincing 2–6, 6–7 defeat by Arthur Fils, who delivered a solid performance on the Pista Rafa Nadal. The Frenchman claimed his first title of the season and his fourth ATP title overall. But it was Rublev’s post-match speech that truly turned heads, as he wasn’t shy about admitting defeat.

“Big congrats to Arthur, to your team, to your family. The way that you are playing is ridiculous. The level at which you played today, and overall, for the last couple of years, you proved that you are one of the best players on tour. Being out for, I don’t know, half a year? And playing again at that level is something unreal,” Rublev said during his post-match speech.

The Russian also confessed that he is not on Fils’ level yet.

“You’re practicing every day, and I am not on that level. I’m really happy for you,” he added.

Despite the dismal result in the final, Rublev’s campaign at the Barcelona Open still proved to be quite impressive. He dropped only one set in the four matches that he played before reaching the penultimate match. This was the 28-year-old’s first appearance in a final since the Hamburg Open last year, where he had suffered a 2-6, 4-6 loss to Flavio Cobolli.

Prior to the Barcelona Open, Rublev also made two semifinal appearances in 2026. The first came at the Qatar Open, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz 6–7, 4–6, and the second at the Dubai Tennis Championships, where he fell to Tallon Griekspoor 5–7, 6–7.

On the other hand, Fils had quite a shaky start to the Barcelona Open. He had lost the opening set 4-6 in his Round of 32 clash against compatriot Terence Atmane, who looked prepared to cause an upset. However, the World No. 25 fought back hard and won the second set 6-4. The deciding set then went into a tiebreaker, where Fils would come out on top and advance to the Round of 16.

He then significantly improved his performance in the matches that followed. The 21-year-old defeated Brandon Nakashima and Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets before making another valiant comeback in the semifinal against crowd-favorite Rafael Jodar. The Frenchman came out on top after an hour and 51 minutes in what was a hard-fought 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Fils kept up his form in the final to clinch his first title since the horrible back injury last year at the French Open that had resulted in an eight-month layoff. The former World No. 14 appears in great condition this season so far and has had impressive campaigns in multiple tournaments. This includes the Qatar Open, where he had made it to the final but was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz. He had also reached the last 4 at the Miami Open before being knocked out by Jiri Lehecka.

The triumph in Barcelona will be a major confidence booster for Arthur Fils heading into the Madrid Open, with the French Open also on the horizon. However, despite winning in straight sets, he wasn’t fully satisfied with his display in the final.

Arthur Fils reflects on ‘tough’ outing against Andrey Rublev

After winning the first set, Fils took a comfortable 5–3 lead in the second set and had the chance to serve for the title. However, the world No. 12 made an incredible turnaround, first breaking the Frenchman’s serve before holding his own to level the set at 5–5.

Things got worse for Fils in the next game as he was broken for the second time in a row. Now, Rublev had a chance to level the match at one set each. But he faltered and allowed his opponent to break back, taking the set to a tiebreak. Fils took control in the tiebreak, winning seven consecutive points to secure the title.

Following the match, the 21-year-old admitted that he wasn’t able to handle the mental pressure in the final few games of the second set.

“It was terrible. The end of the second set was just about the mental [pressure]. The whole match was a bit tough because I was a bit tight. I played well for a set and a half, but when I had to close, I started to think a little. But I’m very happy with the way I played the tie-break,” he said.

Both Fils and Rublev will next be in action at the Madrid Open, which is set to commence on April 22. While Fils has failed to move past the Round of 64 in the last two campaigns that he has had in the Spanish capital, Rublev has gone on to win the tournament in 2024. However, he had suffered a disappointing Round of 32 exit against Alexander Bublik last year.

Will the two of them be able to make a deep run in Madrid this time around, or will they bow out early like last year?