Friday, Andrey Rublev lost his pin in the semi-final of the ATP 500 in Dubai. The Russian, disagreeing with a decision of a line judge, rushed at the latter to bark in his face without – as shown in the few images, where the sound is sometimes masked – insulting him.
A few minutes later, the linesman complained about the blood attack from Andrey Rublev, who was ultimately disqualified for this reproach deemed “too vehement.” A disqualification at the gates of the final (Alexander Bublik led 6-5 in the third set, without a break), which caused a lot of noise on the ATP circuit.
If comments are divided regarding the reaction of the 6th player in the world towards this referee, those on the professional circuit have largely come to the Russian’s defense after his bad gesture. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (24th in the world), for example, criticized the decision to disqualify the Russian: “It is very unfair that they disqualify Rublev without first making sure that what the linesman understood is correct. This rule should be reviewed and modified. Ashamed. We need VAR in tennis. What he did was not right, but to take away the prize money and all the points, without having any proof of the veracity of what the linesman said to the referee, seems unfair,” he railed. the Spaniard on X. The Russian Daria Kasatkina (12th WTA) supported the words of “ADF” on What a joke, another confirmation that we need VAR in tennis and electronic refereeing in all tournaments.
Tennys Sandgren, 270th in the ATP rankings and known for his very involved media outings, went even further: “It’s pretty crazy that the supervisor can come on court and put you in ‘default’ because a referee said that you swore in Russian. Rublev should absolutely appeal this decision and demand the winner’s money – from the tournament – from the court. It is true that the reason given on the ground was bullshit,” protested the American, also on X.
For his part, Adrian Mannarino also criticized the attitude of the linesman, “coming to swing” and making a comparison with John McEnroe: “I don’t know how many matches he would finish in 2024…”
Nick Kyrgios recognized the “class” of Alexander Bublik, who had proposed to the tournament supervisor to continue the match. Moreover, the Kazakh himself admitted in a post-match press conference that he “strongly doubted that Andrey said something crazy”, affirming that it was “not his style.” Nick Kyrgios continued by also supporting the Muscovite, affirming that his attitude “did not justify disqualification.”
On the contrary, former player and consultant at Eurosport Arnaud Clément, for his part, defended the arbitration body. “It’s the rules, it’s part of their mission. When they – the line judges – hear comments, they must report them to the chair umpire. Even if some people pretend at times not to have heard anything. It’s quite incredible for a player of his caliber, in relation to his experience and his past, to the emotions he has been able to experience for years on the courts. Losing your nerves like that, in a semi-final, is really very special,” said the Frenchman.
For his part, Andrey Rublev, since his disqualification, has still not shown the slightest sign of life, particularly on social networks.
