“The main thing is to cope with the nerves”: Morozova on Rublev’s chances in the match with Cilic and the battle between Kasatkina and Kudermetova

- In the fourth round match of Roland Garros, Daniil Medvedev was practically unable to oppose Marina Cilic.

He looked unusually weak at the reception and made a lot of unforced errors.

How can you rate his game?

- Firstly, I want to say that I always watch Daniil's matches with great pleasure, because he shows a special, very interesting tennis.

I am pleased to see interesting draws and incredible ideas.

As for his performance at Roland Garros, you need to understand that not much time has passed since the operation, which unsettled him and deprived him of sports tone.

And after long periods of downtime, it always takes some time to recover and feel confident.

- Do you think the problem is more in it, and not in physical readiness?

- What is confidence?

The fact is that with a score of 30:30 you know for sure that you will serve the first ball to the right place.

And you know exactly where your opponent will serve.

And this feeling in Daniel is now dulled.

Of course, I was a little surprised that he lost to Cilic, because the Croatian is not exactly an earthy tennis player.

But everything happens, there is no need to be especially upset about this.

The main thing is that we have an absolutely wonderful player in Russia who pleases all spectators (and not only in our country).

He just doesn't feel well right now.

- Did Cilic jump above his head in this match?

- You can say that.

What did he have to lose?

He met with the second racket of the world, who was a little bit first and could return to the leading line.

Cilic went for broke, and he succeeded.

And Daniel did not work out with the first serve.

But here you need to understand that he has a very difficult tennis, for which you need to be in very good shape.

His understanding of the game and the subtleties he uses require excellent physical fitness and 100% confidence.

It cannot be otherwise at such a high level.

In addition, the situation in the world is now difficult, and, in my opinion, it also puts a certain pressure on him.

- How long do you think it will take Medvedev to return to an optimal state?

“Now he will have about a month left, as he will miss Wimbledon.

And this has its advantages, since he will not need to move from cover to cover.

He will immediately prepare for American tournaments, in particular for the US Open.

He and the coach are very experienced and, I'm sure, they know perfectly well what needs to be done.

I hope that Daniil will be in excellent shape for the North American tour.

- Andrei Rublev will have the opportunity to get even for Medvedev with Cilic.

Cope?

“I think he has a very good chance of winning.

The Croatian is quite an old player, and Rublev is quick, he likes such a powerful approach.

With Marin, you need to take it well, but for our athlete this should not become some kind of wild problem.

I think he watched Medvedev's match, drew certain conclusions and will be ready to avoid the mistakes that his compatriot made.

Yes, and Danya, I'm sure, will tell him.

If Andrei can show his tennis, he will win.

- According to Shamil Tarpishchev, one of the main problems of Rublev, which prevents him from achieving even better results, is psychological instability.

How might this affect the outcome of the meeting?

Of course he will be worried.

If he had dated someone in the top ten, perhaps he would have reacted differently.

Cilic, of course, is the champion of the US Open in 2014, but the tennis player is still not of the same echelon as Nadal or Djokovic.

Here Rublev understands that he has chances and nerves will determine everything.

He has the game that will make it possible to win.

But it all needs to be put together and delivered at exactly the right moment.

- Are there any secrets on how to cope with nerves?

“Experience is very important here.

The higher the level of the athlete, the better he controls himself, can prepare to play seven matches at the Grand Slam tournament.

This is not only a talent, not only a job, it is also an incredible experience and understanding of the situation.

Many tennis players have played well, but few have won tournaments of the highest rank.

The same Roger Federer won the Roland Garros only once.

When the Swiss was still young, he could not even pass the first lap!

So he was affected by excitement and desire.

And only then, with the accumulated experience, he was able to go further and eventually win.

Not everyone succeeds, like Rafael Nadal, to win from the sheet.

This is a brilliant man who came to the French Open and immediately became a champion.

But this happens very, very rarely.

Let's hope that Andriy will use the accumulated experience and, most importantly, will not burn out, but calmly prepare for this match.

- Unlike the men's tournament, the Russian quarterfinal will still take place in the women's tournament.

Although here, looking at the confident tennis of both Daria Kasatkina and Veronika Kudermetova, it’s time to complain that the lot brought them together at this stage.

- You know, when we had Elena Dementieva, Anastasia Myskina, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Nadezhda Petrova and Vera Zvonareva in our top 8 and they met each other, I always thought: “Well, then, one of ours will definitely be in the final” .

Therefore, it’s okay here that Daria and Veronika will play with each other.

But one Russian woman will definitely reach the semi-finals.

“And it’s kind of unexpected, don’t you agree?

- Both girls showed amazing results in Paris.

Kudermetova made it this far in the majors for the first time, and Kasatkina had a brilliant performance at Wimbledon a couple of years ago, but then she had a big slump.

And now I am very happy for her, because she, like Medvedev, is a very interesting and unique player.

She has all the data to break any opponent.

As for Kudermetova, I know her coach and husband Sergei Demekhin very well.

I worked with him a lot when I was coaching Dementieva.

He is a very attentive and responsible person, plus he is madly in love with tennis.

I think this tandem of theirs is now bearing fruit.

Veronica beat Madison Keys in great style.

The American in the previous match with Rybakina did some unimaginable things, and Veronika simply broke her.

Score 6:1 in the third set is very indicative.

This suggests that Kudermetova has an inner strength and confidence that allows her to fight at the highest level.

And not just to expect some kind of gift from the opponent, but to win herself.

- Is there a favorite in their confrontation with Kasatkina?

You know, they're both smart.

In general, I want to say that we now have athletes who have very few shortcomings.

They have such good technique and physics that the only question is how each of them will manifest themselves at a particular moment.

The match will be nervous.

At first glance, Kasatkina has an advantage.

But Kudermetova can serve well, attack and go to the net, she has very strong legs, and physically she is very well prepared in this tournament.

Naturally, they know each other well and understand how to act.

Both of them have weapons, and the result will depend on how they use them.

- Daria spent less energy on advancing the grid than Veronika, since her opponents were not so formidable.

Is this a plus or a minus?

- Sometimes you need to have players on the grid that you can and love to beat.

Again, to gain confidence.

Let's see how events develop.

Yes, Kudermetova had to fight for reaching the quarterfinals, but I don’t think that because of this, all her strength will leave her.

Can you imagine how much adrenaline she has now?

She is playing in an important tournament and has already reached such a height!

So do not even think that she is tired.

She will fight at 150%.

- This year, Roland Garros was very successful for the Russians - three participants reached the quarterfinals, which has not happened in Paris for a long time.

A lucky coincidence or a tendency to improve play on clay?

- To be honest, now very few people can play the tennis that was before and that you need to play at Roland Garros.

Probably not enough time to prepare, to switch from coating to coating.

Therefore, everyone basically shows their usual style with minimal adjustments, since this is still an earthen surface.

And the coating itself is now a little different, it has become faster.

And even at night they began to hold matches, which was previously unimaginable in Paris.

In this regard, I am reminded of the five-time Wimbledon winner Bjorn Borg, who could not win the US Open.

He reached the final several times, but they were always late and he couldn't play at night.

And Jimmy Connors, on the contrary, felt great in such conditions, and this brought him victory.

Perhaps not all of our athletes immediately adapted to these new conditions correctly, did not find their own way of playing on the ground, and now they are gradually adjusting.

In addition, both Rublev and Medvedev have become more experienced, and this is bearing fruit.

- Which sooner or later will be embodied in titles?

-

Remember when Danya reached the final of the Grand Slam tournament for the first time, how delighted we all were?

And now we are waiting for this all the time.

We, the audience, are such a people that we get used to it and expect only one thing - victories.

But there can only be one champion.

No matter how hard Federer tried to win more titles on clay, he was not allowed by Nadal.

And Djokovic performs best at the Australian Open, and he deliberately sums himself up specifically for this tournament.

Besides, no one stands still.

The same Nadal has recently changed significantly.

He simplified his game, began to complete the draws faster.

The Spaniard understands that at this age he will no longer be able to run 15 times from corner to corner on the back line.

But that's the beauty of tennis.

Therefore, I propose not to think of anything, but to enjoy a beautiful game.