"He was surprised" - Andrey Rublev on gifting ATP Finals bodyguard an iPhone

Andrey Rublev spoke about gifting his bodyguard an iPhone at the 2023 ATP Finals.

Rubelv has competed in the year-end championship for four years in a row and has forged a friendship with a bodyguard named Larry in Turin over the past three years.

He was asked about this in an interview with a Russian YouTube channel and said that Larry was assigned as his security guard in his first year at the ATP Finals in Turin in 2021. The two soon became friends.

"When I got to Turin for the first time, they assigned me a security. They assigned me a person to look after me, and turns he has to do so all day long, especially when I'm heading to practice, out on the streets. And, so we became friends, and that's it," Rublev said.

The Russian was also asked about the time when he gifted Larry an iPhone, and he responded by saying that the latter was surprised:

"Yes, an iPhone. He was surprised."

Rublev had group-stage exits at the ATP Finals in three out of his four appearances. His best performance at the year-ending championship came in 2022 when he reached the semifinals before losing to Casper Ruud.

Andrey Rublev won 2 titles in 2023

Andrey Rublev in action at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown in London

Andrey Rublev had a pretty decent campaign in 2023, during which he won 56 out of 82 matches and two titles.

The Russian's first tournament win of the season was the biggest of his career so far, as he clinched his maiden Masters 1000 tournament at the Monte-Carlo Masters by beating Holger Rune in the final. He defeated Jaume Munar, Karen Khachanov, Jan-Lennard Struff and Taylor Fritz en route to the title.

Rublev's second title came at the Swedish Open in Bastad, where he was the second seed. The Russian beat Pavel Kotov, Alexander Zverev and Francisco Cerundolo to reach the summit clash, where he triumphed over Casper Ruud.

The 26-year-old also reached the final of the Shanghai Masters and made it to the quarterfinals of all the Grand Slam tournaments barring the French Open.

Rublev's 2023 season ended at the ATP Finals where he lost all of his round-robin matches to Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev to finish at the bottom of his group. The Russian will end the year as the World No. 5.