This is one of the images from Tuesday on the courts of the Masters 1000 at Paris Bercy. Terribly frustrated by the scenario of a defeat which was looming in the second round of the tournament against the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo (7-6, 7-6), the Russian Andrey Rublev let his anger explode by frantically smashing his racket on left knee at the start of the second round. Six times in a few seconds to end up with a bleeding knee.
He had then just lost the first in the deciding game after leading 5 games to 2 and lost the first point of the third game of the second set (1-1, 0-15) on his opponent’s serve. This defeat could also cost him dearly in the race for the top 8 in the world, synonymous with participation in the Masters at the end of the year.
Andrey Rublev is used to bloodshed of this kind. A true “Doctor Jekyll and Mister Hyde” of the world circuit, the 27-year-old completely changes his personality once he enters the court. Last May, already in Paris, on the clay court of Roland-Garros, Rublev lost his nerves and his third round match this Friday against the Italian Matteo Arnaldi (7-6, 6-2, 6-4). Frustrated, angry, he attacked himself several times, ending in tears.
However, he had promised to try to control himself since his disqualification in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 Tournament in Dubai at the very beginning of March. While he was trailing 6-5 in the 3rd set by Alexander Bublik, he then attacked a line judge. “I promise to learn from all of this, and I will try to become better as a player and a person,” he commented afterwards. It’s missed again.
