"Very unfair that they disqualify Andrey Rublev" - Alejandro Davidovich Fokina sides with the Russian after Dubai controversy, calls for VAR in tennis

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina reacted to Andrey Rublev being defaulted in his semifinal match against Alexander Bublik at the Dubai Tennis Championships for screaming in the face of a line judge.

Rublev and Bublik were involved in an intense match which was in its third set. The Russian had won the first set 7-6(4) whereas the Kazakh tied the contest by claiming the second set 7-6 (5).

Bublik was serving 40-30 up at 5-5 when a return hit by the Kazakh landed very close to the line, however, there was no call by the line judge. But a few shots later, the World No. 5 returned a forehand from Bublik which was called out. As soon as the point ended, Rublev went towards the line judge and started shouting in his face.

An argument took place between Rublev and an official who was told by another line judge who spoke Russian that Rublev called the other judge a 'f***ing moron' in Russian. The World No. 5's constant pleas that he spoke in English and not in Russian came to no avail as he was defaulted and will lose all the points and prize money he earned during the event.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina reacted to the incident on X (formerly Twitter) and sympathized with Rublev for his default, stating that he felt the situation wasn't handled properly.

"Very unfair that they disqualify Rublev without first ensuring that what the line judge understood is correct. That rule should be reviewed and changed. Shameful. We need VAR in tennis.@AndreyRublev97 @atptour"

He continued in another tweet:

"What he did wasn't right, but taking away all the prize money and points without any proof of what the line judge said to the referee was correct seems unfair."

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Andrey Rublev's constant struggle with anger issues

Andrey Rublev slamming his racket

It is no secret to tennis fans that Andrey Rublev has a hard time keeping his anger under control. There have been many cases where the Russian has screamed at others during the match.

Rublev, who has been open about his mental health issues, recently exploded at the chair umpire during the Final Four clash between him and Holger Rune at UTS London where he got in the umpire's face. There was also the incident at the 2023 Shanghai Masters where the 26-year-old lost his cool at a camera person who moved mid-rally breaking Rublev's concentration.

Andrey Rublev is also known for smashing his rackets in anger and hitting himself with them. During his match against Carlos Alcaraz at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals, the Russian bloodied his knee after repeatedly hitting himself with his racket.