Watch: Andrey Rublev DEFAULTED for swearing and screaming at a line judge during his semis against Alexander Bublik at Dubai

With the third set tied at 5-5, the Kazakh was on the serve. A hold at this point would have transferred all pressure on the Russian. Serving for the game, Bublik fired a rapid ace right in the center. The Russian returned it with a forehand as the two started a rally of some powerful shots.

One of the returns by Bublik looked to be landing outside the baseline as per the second seed. He however continued playing before hitting a mistimed shot that landed outside the baseline in Bublik’s part of the court. As a result, the chair umpire gave the point and the game to the seventh seed.

Rublev was furious at the line umpire for not calling the shot by the Kazakh. In a fierce meltdown, he screamed for nearly 8-10 seconds shouting in his face signalling with his hands as well. As a result of his misdemeanor, the Russian was defaulted from the tie after a heated argument with the officials.

Andrey Rublev is likely to receive a huge fine and loss of points

After Rublev had moved to his bench, one of the officials came and confronted him about his actions. One of the officials who understood Russian accused the second seed of swearing at the line judge over his call. He reported the incident to the chair umpire who called on for the tournament supervisor.

The two men immediately confronted Rublev claiming the swearing was confirmed by one of the officials. After an argument between them where the Russian tried his best to explain he didn’t swear, the supervisor wasn’t convinced. He informed of the decision to default to World No. 5.

The verdict was communicated to Bublik immediately who waited for the proceedings to kick off at the baseline. As Rublev hung his head in disappointment, the Kazakh was equally surprised but the supervisor remained adamant in defaulting Rublev.

The incident was quite similar to what happened with Novak Djokovic at the US Open in 2020. The Nole had unintentionally hit the ball at a chair umpire’s neck. As a result of the reaction of the elderly umpire, the Serb was defaulted from the Grand Slam event right away.

With Rublev having a similar fate, one can expect the Russian to be stripped of his prize money for this week and ranking points, an action that was taken against Djokovic as well for his actions in New York.