Watch: Andrey Rublev hilariously struggles to rescue a cricket after it interrupts his 3R tie at Australian Open 2024

Andrey Rublev's third-round match at the Australian Open was interrupted by a cricket on the court as the Russian struggled to rescue it.

On Friday (January 19), Andrey Rublev competed against World No. 26 Sebastian Korda in the third round of the first Grand Slam of the year at Margaret Court Arena. Rublev defeated Korda 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-4 to set up a Round of 16 encounter with Alex de Minaur.

In a video posted by the Australian Open official X (formerly Twitter) account on Friday, it featured Rublev struggling to carry the cricket from the court. It kept slipping from his hands until a ball girl came and helped him out by carrying the cricket away from the court.

Watch here:

The 2024 edition of the Australian Open marks Andrey Rublev's 8th appearance at the tournament. Rublev entered the Australian Open in fine form, having recently won the Hong Kong Open. He secured victories against Liam Broady, Arthur Fils, and Juncheng Shang before defeating Emil Ruusuvuori in the final to clinch the ATP 250 title.

---

Andrey Rublev will face Alex de Minaur in the fourth round of the Australian Open

UTS Grand Final London (Andrey Rublev Getty images)

Andrey Rublev will take on Alex de Minaur in the Round of 16 at the 2024 Australian Open.

Rublev is still pursuing his first Grand Slam title. He commenced his quest for this season's Happy Slam by defeating Thiago Seyboth Wild in the first round. In the second round, he emerged victorious against Christopher Eubanks, before defeating Sebastian Korda in the next round.

Rublev's best finish at the Australian Open has been two quarterfinal appearances, in 2021 and 2023. He was defeated by eventual finalist Daniil Medvedev in 2021, and in 2023, he was knocked out by eventual winner Novak Djokovic.

Alex de Minaur, meanwhile, also came into the tournament in fine form. He represented the Australian team in the 2024 United Cup. However, they were eliminated in the semifinal. Nevertheless, he recorded wins over World No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev during the tournament.

Alex de Minaur began his Australian Open title pursuit by facing Milos Raonic in the first round, who retired from the match due to a leg injury. He then defeated two Italians, Matteo Arnaldi and Flavio Cobolli, in the second and third rounds, respectively.

Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur have faced each other five times on the ATP Tour, with the Australian winning three of those encounters. The last time they competed was in the quarterfinal of the ATP Masters 1000 Paris, where Rublev emerged victorious 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.