Russian tennis player Andrey Rublev is having an excellent season and has already made it to the semi-finals of the major Masters series tournament in Paris. At the same time, the display of emotions on the court could have cost Andrei his way into the next round; he almost injured the ball-boy.

Fortunately, everything ended well, and Rublev now faces a big battle with world tennis legend Novak Djokovic. Fans on social networks give Andrey very good chances.

“It could not have ended very well.”

Rublev, having reached the quarterfinal stage, has already achieved a unique achievement for himself. Previously, in Paris, he did not reach beyond the third round. It is clear that this was an additional challenge for Russia’s second racket. Andrey’s ambitions this season are the highest. Nevertheless, no one expected an easy victory in the confrontation with Australian Alex de Minaur. Moreover, Rublev was inferior to his opponent in personal matches with a score of 1-3, and even then his only success came on clay.

The fears were confirmed already in the first set. The game was even until the ninth game, where the Australian managed to convert a break point, take the Russian’s serve, and then bring the game to victory – 6:4. Then Andrey finally pulled himself together and managed to first level the situation and then win a difficult match. To do this, Rublev had to swear quite a bit on the court; in a number of episodes he did not hesitate to use very biting expressions.

There was also a moment when an unpleasant incident almost happened. Rublev was close to hitting the boy serving the balls. This happened during the first set. Andrey lost the draw and was predictably disappointed by this. He began to swing his racket, and just at that second a ball boy ran past him after the ball. The Russian literally saw him at the last moment and interrupted the movement with his hand. The fans were also pretty scared.

— Everything could not have ended very well when Andrei almost hit the boy who serves the balls. I really think that this incident greatly frightened Rublev, after which he really began to play much better,” Maria Henry noted on social networks.

“How close Rublev was to hitting the ball-boy with his racket,” user Carol lamented.

Andrey Rublev / Photo: © Eurasia Sport Images / Contributor / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Does Rublev specifically not believe in defeating Djokovic?

After the match ended, the Russian was already in a great mood and joked that he had virtually no chance against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. And indeed, the score in their personal confrontation is 4-1 in favor of the Serbian tennis player, so statistics are clearly not on Andrei’s side. Rublev also spoke ironically about the organizers of the tournament in Paris, who do not allow him to sleep properly.

– I haven’t learned anything. Novak beat me four times without any chance at all. Let’s see, maybe I’ve gained some experience. Now I need to go have dinner, go through the procedures and run to the shower. I don’t know what time I’ll go to bed. Perhaps four or five in the morning. Great schedule, thank you very much. And I’m also on the ATP Players Council. We are together,” The Tennis Letter quotes Rublev as saying.

At the same time, fans do not agree with the Russian and are confident that he is capable of defeating Djokovic, or at least imposing a serious fight on him. Novak, of course, is good, but he cannot be said to be invincible.

– Rublev plays very well, he is confident in his abilities, it’s clear. I think he can handle Djokovic. I see that this match will last three sets. Andrey is ready to defeat the first racket of the world. It’s great to see how he has improved,” wrote Jack Dent.

“I adore Andrey, he’s an excellent player and it’s clear that he’s a sweet and kind person,” jib scatters in compliments.

— How can you not love Rublev? It is beautiful from all sides,” noted DG vez.

— Andrey is too modest. He already beat Novak once, so he has experience and chances too,” wrote Tom Zhang.

— The Serbian public adores Rublev, and he knows it. We showed him our love when he came to the tournament in Belgrade two years ago,” admitted Narda.

– Come on, Andrey! You can do this in the upcoming match,” Garry concluded.

There’s not long to wait. If fans have so much faith in Rublev, then there is no reason for him to doubt the possibility of defeating Djokovic. The Serb, of course, is very strong, but the same Roman Safiullin recently dealt with Carlos Alcaraz, so Andrey has an excellent example from his compatriot before his eyes.