Rub up wrong
‘I don’t remember behaving worse,’ says petulant tennis star Andrey Rublev after epic meltdown during French Open exit
Rublev's opponent also gave their thoughts on the antics
PETULANT Andrey Rublev suffered a meltdown on court at the French Open as he KICKED his chair in anger.
The Russian, 26, is not one to hide his emotions and he was in full madcap mode as he became the first male top-10 player to be booted out.
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Unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi succeeded 7-6 6-2 6-4 in the third round on Court Suzanne-Lenglen in his fifth-ever singles appearance at Roland Garros.
After disputing a line call in the second set, furious Rublev smacked his racquet on the ground and then he booted his bench repeatedly.
The crowd were cheering every time he did it in ironic fashion.
In the third set, the No.6 seed smacked his equipment against his knee and his body language grew worse and worse, more and more negative as the end drew closer.
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The Moscow Man – who has never been beyond the quarter-finals of a Slam in 26 attempts – also spat on court as his surprise opponent enjoyed the finest moment of his career.
Arnaldi, 23, said: “It’s incredible. I played the best tennis for sure of my life.
“It’s easy to do it in a normal tournament but to do it in a Slam is amazing.
“I wasn’t expecting this. I continued to play like this. He didn’t play his best tennis. I put him under pressure. Today it worked very well.”
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Reflecting on his actions, a remorseful Rublev said: "Completely disappointed with myself, the way I behaved, the way I performed.
"I don’t remember behaving worse in a Slam ever. It was the first time I ever behaved that bad.
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"I gave Matteo wings to fly and he was flying in the third set.
"The problem is the head. Today basically I kill myself and that’s it. It was really bad behaviour from me."
Rublev's furious antics were also seen at the Dubai Open when he was disqualified in his opening match after screaming at a line judge.
Coco Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, was a 6-2 6-4 winner over Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska and now tackles Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Last 16 on Sunday.
+ No.4 seed Alex Zverev is contesting a domestic abuse charge back home in Germany and the criminal trial started in Berlin today.
A decision will be made on Monday if the hearing will be held behind closed doors for privacy reasons.
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