Andrey Rublev disqualified for embarrassing act towards line judge in Dubai semi-final
The Russian was defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct after screaming in the face of a line judge.
Andrey Rublev was defaulted from his semi-final match at the Dubai Tennis Championships for unsportsmanlike conduct after screaming in the face of a line judge in the final set of a tense encounter against Alexander Bublik. The Russian lost his temper at the end of the third set and was accused of swearing at an official in chaotic scenes at the ATP Tour event.
Rublev denied the allegation, stating that he had spoken in English during the confrontation with the line official at the change of ends after disagreeing with a call. During an exchange with umpire Miriam Bley and a Russian speaker following the altercation, Rublev insisted: "I was not talking Russian".
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"I was talking first of all in English, not Russian, second I can say he was talking in a bad way too," Rublev said. "I didn’t say ‘f******’. I swear to God. This is huge. I swear to God."
A shocked and confused Bublik - who clawed his way back from a set down to lead 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-5) 6-5 - urged the umpire to continue the match but Bley ultimately disqualified the World No.5 for his outburst. Following the match Bublik leapt to the defence of Rublev, saying his outburst was out of character and didn't believe he would have said anything "crazy".
"I highly doubt Andrey said something crazy. He's not this kind of guy," Bublik told reporters. "But I guess that's the rules. That's what they did, they just follow the procedure.
"There's not much to say. With all due respect, it was a great match and both of us deserved to win. The crowd was there and we could have played one of the greatest matches against each other. It's a pity it ended like this. I wish Andrey to get back on track as soon as possible. The tennis world was shocked by Rublev's actions but fans were divided about whether the outburst deserved him to be disqualified.
👇 Two things can be true at once:
- Andrey Rublev is, by almost all accounts, one of the NICEST players out there, with a good heart, and someone who I am a fan of personally.
- What he did today was over the line, not that he is the only one that acts like that - because he… pic.twitter.com/Yw6zgojM4s— Olly 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) March 1, 2024
Look, swearing or not, you can't scream in officials' faces and get away with it every time
Time for Rublev to take action towards resolving his anger issues pic.twitter.com/mD2IQ0IooS— Bastien Fachan (@BastienFachan) March 1, 2024
Watching the whole episode back, I absolutely feel for Rublev.
Yeah he should not have screamed but the problem with tennis is that rules are not rules.
How they are applied depends on who they apply to and sometimes just on a whim…
pic.twitter.com/GVBhLgzldf— Puneet (@TennisPuneet) March 1, 2024
For context: Rublev was DEFAULTED for saying “line, line, line, it was out, it was out”
Yes, you shouldn’t shout. But this was not worthy of a default. pic.twitter.com/9F6TND39hI— Rubleved (@rubleved) March 1, 2024
Alexander Bublik is into the final in Dubai with this ugly ending.
Rublev defaulted, will forfeit all his prize money.
I’ve always liked Andrey, most often he directs his frustrations inward.
This crossed a line.
We can’t condone abuse of officials.
pic.twitter.com/C6ujmZTur7— Ben Lewis (@BenLewisMPC) March 1, 2024
Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik engage in fiery semi-final
Tensions had been simmering before Rublev's outburst after the momentum had swung in favour of Bublik. Rublev at one point led the match 7-6 6-7 4-2 and held three break points to move a game away from the final.
But Bublik clawed his way back to edge ahead 6-5 in the deciding set, at which point the Russian lost his cool at the line judge. Bublik also had moments where his temper got the better of him, receiving a warning for smashing his racket earlier in the third set.
After being defaulted, the Russian will forfeit all prize money and ranking points won at the tournament. The disqualification means Bublik automatically advances to Saturday’s final, where he will play Ugo Humbert, who upset top seed Daniil Medvedev in the other semi-final. The reigning champion Medvedev was swept aside by the Frenchman 7-5 6-3.
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