ATP 500 DUBAI. By Emiliano Naftali
In one of the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Dubai, Alexander Bublik and Andrey Rublev took center stage. The Russian was expelled from the tournament by the authorities after it was confirmed that he had insulted the line judge following a controversial call. Rublev had won the first set 7-6 (4), but Bublik did the same in the second set 7-6 (5), and had just won the game that put him ahead 6-5 in the third set.
Immediately after the point was awarded to the Kazakhstani player, Rublev approached the position of the linesman and shouted in his face. According to the specialized media outlet Punto de Break, the tournament supervisor approached to warn that a linesman, who knew how to speak Russian, identified that Rublev had shouted at him in his language, “damn idiot.”
This led the highest authority to go to the Moscow native’s position to ask for explanations about his alleged obscene language. The fifth-ranked player in the world denied to the supervisor having said any inappropriate words and even claimed that he initially spoke in English. However, it didn’t matter; he was expelled from the tournament. Bublik showed willingness to continue, although the decision had already been made.
Now Rublev will lose the prize money he had obtained in Dubai (around $150,000), the points he had earned during the week in the United Arab Emirates, and he could even drop out of the Top 5 ranking.