- Andrey Rublev smashes his racket in furious collapse at French Open
- The Russian lost in straight sets against the Italian Matteo Arnaldi and regrets his temperament
- He claimed he mentally “committed suicide” and “completely lost control” out of frustration.
Andrey Rublev admitted: “I don’t remember ever behaving worse at a Slam ever” after leaving the French Open kicking and screaming.
The sixth seed was defeated 7-6, 6-2, 6-4 by Italian Matteo Arnaldi on Friday and, not for the first time in his career, Rublev was the author of his own fall.
After losing two breaks in the second set, the 26-year-old Muscovite crashed his racket twice on the ground and, as he went to sit down for the change, kicked the bench three times.
Rublev roared in frustration, broke his racket and was on the verge of tears.
After the game, he sat with his head bowed and his long red hair falling over his face, and tried to explain away this unnecessary self-sabotage.
Andrey Rublev admitted he was “killing himself” on court when he crashed at the French Open
The Russian unleashed his fury and destroyed his racket on the way to losing to Matteo Arnaldi
“Completely disappointed in myself for the way I behaved, for the way I acted,” he said. “I think it was the first time I behaved so badly.
“The way I behave completely puts me down and gives Matteo wings to fly, and he was flying in the third set unbelievably.” It was too late to do anything.
Rublev had a bad start to the clay season, but he arrived at Roland Garros with the wind in his favor after winning the Madrid Masters.
‘I was struggling and then I got a very good result in Madrid. Now I’m playing well again. I feel like I’m playing a good game, I’m improving. The problem is my head, which basically killed me today and that’s it.’
He tried to explain how things fell apart after losing the first set tiebreaker and admitted he “sunk” at the end of the second set. ‘In the tiebreaker I had opportunities and then in the second set I started with emotions.
‘But somehow I was able to recover. Then, out of nowhere, again, I collapse on myself, get emotional, lose my serve, and then I lose it completely and basically almost… almost, no, I collapse in the second set, and then it’s too late. ‘
Tennis is a frustrating game (visit your local courts to see for yourself) and players have to endure its tribulations alone. But it’s hard to understand how this eloquent, mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll can become such a furious Mr. Hyde on a tennis court.
Rublev admitted his “problem is his head” and regretted his outburst after everything fell apart
At one point, the tennis star was close to crying with frustration and lost in three sets.
Rublev’s incredible hand speed on his shots gives him the power to cause problems for anyone in the game. But until he can quell the raging storms swirling in his mind, his full potential will remain woefully unrealized.
In stark contrast, Rublev’s fellow redhead Jannik Sinner continued his composed progress through the draw with a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russian Pavel Kotov.