A year after writing a famous anti-war plea on the lens of a television camera, Rublev expressed his hostility to the war that has been raging in Ukraine for just over a year.
In the wake of his victory over Germany's Alexander Zverev, Rublev paid tribute to the late Soviet rock star, Viktor Tsoi, writing again on the camera lens, the message: "Tsoi is alive".
The artist, member of the rock group Kino, formed in the 1970s, wanted to be the spokesperson for a youth who aspire to change in the former USSR.
"He's one of the artists of a past generation who had a huge impact in the USSR, I think, because his voice was really powerful," Rublev said.
"It was not an easy time. The lyrics he wrote gave people a lot of hope at that time. I wrote them because I feel like now similar things are happening."
Tsoi died aged 28 in 1990 in a car crash near Riga, Latvia.
Last year, during his title in Dubai, Rublev wrote a powerful message on the camera lens: "No war please", just days after his invasion of Ukraine by his country.
"You can't just ignore it because it's horrible. It's crazy that so many normal citizens are suffering and dying. The only thing I hope is that soon there will be peace in all countries", he declared, this Friday, questioned on the court in Dubai.
Players from Russia and Belarus were notably banned from taking part in Wimbledon last year and are awaiting their fate for this year's edition (July 3-16).
© 2023 AFP