THE SPORT SCAN – Defeated by Francisco Cerundolo in the first round of the Rolex Paris Masters on Tuesday, the Russian once again destroyed one of his rackets in anger and ended up with a bleeding knee.
Famous for his tantrums on the tennis courts, Andrey Rublev lived up to his reputation during the first round of the Masters 1000 at Paris-Bercy on Tuesday. Opposed to the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo, the Russian lost in two sets (7-6 [6]7-6 [5]) despite numerous opportunities to take the lead. In the middle of the second round, frustrated, the world No.7 bludgeoned his knee with his racket, to the point of opening and bleeding. Author of a complicated season despite two titles, Andrey Rublev is under pressure at the end of 2024. Alex De Minaur, Grigor Dimitrov and Stefanos Tsitsipas hope to steal the eighth and final qualifier for the Turin Masters.
«For weeks, I haven’t stopped analyzing what could happen, looking at who my opponents are playing against and other things like that. It’s stressful, but it’s part of the sport» explained the Russian after his match in Paris. An additional pressure therefore, toxic for Rublev, who has still not found a way to control his mind while being under tension. Accustomed to breaking down mentally, the Russian went so far as to be disqualified in March during the ATP 500 in Dubai, for an attack on a line judge.
