Rublev suffered a psychological breakdown, says coach Kalivod

Honored coach of Russia Alexander Kalivod commented on the disqualification of Andrei Rublev for insulting the referee during the semi-final match at the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai.

On Friday, Rublev was disqualified for insulting a linesman during a match against Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik. In the third set, with the end of the rally, after which the score became 6:5 in favor of Bublik, Rublev shouted at the line referee. Another linesman, who was nearby, heard an insult to his colleague in the athlete’s Russian speech and immediately turned to the chief referee and supervisor. At the same time, Rublev’s opponent was ready to continue the match.

— Frankly, I was sure that Andrei would be able to finish his job and win the match. Everything that happened came as a bit of a shock to me. It was not Rublev. I think he had a psychological breakdown. Apparently, all the difficulties that he faced at previous tournaments and even during this game made themselves felt, I’m talking now about two tiebreakers. Emotional fatigue took its toll. Perhaps he himself still hasn’t realized what he did, and it happened at the level of instincts,” RT quotes Kalivoda as saying.

According to the regulations, after being suspended, Rublev will lose all points earned and prize money for the tournament.