Andrey Rublev had a meltdown as he found himself in trouble, going two sets down in his French Open third-round match. The world No. 6 screamed when he was broken by Matteo Arnaldi in the second set.
After going 5-2 down, he smashed his racket and kicked his bench, continuing to yell in the direction of his box But the unleashing of emotion didn’t help and Arnaldi took a 7-6(6) 6-2 lead, putting Rublev at risk of an upset.
Pressure had been mounting on Rublev, who lost a close set to the world No. 35 on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. After dropping it in a tiebreak, he went a break down in the second set and screamed.
And things got worse when he was broken again, giving Arnaldi a chance to serve for the second. The Russian bent over and smashed his racket in the clay before turning to face his team and shouting.
Rublev’s outburst didn’t stop there, as he skulked over to his bench for the changeover and kicked the base of it several times, receiving a code violation.
The 26-year-old looked lost as he sat down and buried his head. And Arnaldi took full advantage of his opponent’s emotional reaction, serving out the second set with ease.
But the fans were still backing Rublev, chanting his name in between sets as his opponent left the court for a comfort break.
It’s not the first time the 16-time title winner has unleashed his frustrations on the court, as he often lets his emotions get the better of him. In Dubai this year, he was defaulted during his semi-final against Alexander Bublik.
