5 months ago
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A frustrated Andrey Rublev smashed his racquet on the court after a surprise third-round loss to Matteo Arnaldi at the French Open.
Sixth seed Rublev could not control his emotions in a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 6-4 loss to the 35th-ranked Italian.
The Russian showed signs of agitation at the end of the first set - being warned by the umpire after throwing his racquet to the ground.
He shouted at his team after being broken in the second set and bounced his racquet on the clay between Arnaldi serves, drawing ironic cheers from the crowd.
The 26-year-old also hit his knee with his racquet in the third set after continuously kicking his chair.
Rublev is a 10-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist but has never gone beyond that stage.
He was defaulted in Dubai for unsportsmanlike conduct three months ago but made a conscious effort to control his on-court demeanour, external on his way to the Madrid Open title in May.
However he struggled throughout the match against Arnaldi and looked visibly upset as he left the court.
Arnaldi will face either ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece or China's Zhang Zhizhen next.
Rublev started well, trading breaks with Arnaldi before narrowly losing out in a tie-break.
His frustrations then started to bubble over as his concentration and performance levels began to drop significantly.
Rublev was also seen flexing his knee after slamming the strings of his racquet on it numerous times as Arnaldi closed in on victory.
Former British number one Annabel Croft described it as "tough to witness".
"He's such a fun and charming character off the court. You don't recognise this character who is so tormented," she told BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra.
"When you see a guy whacking his leg with such physical anger and venom, that's not good for us to even witness.
"It's not about him growing up and maturing, but ultimately, tennis is a sport. It's not the be all and end all.
"He needs to somehow find some perspective with what he's trying to do."
English (US)