Andrey Rublev DQ’d from Dubai semi after yelling at line judge،
Andrey Rublev was kicked out of his semi-final at the Dubai Championships on Friday for shouting at a linesman, allowing Alexander Bublik to advance to the final.
Second-seeded Rublev broke out after Bublik won a point to take a 6-5 lead in the deciding set.
The Russian player, ranked No. 5, immediately pointed to the baseline, walked up to the linesman, leaned down and shouted in his face.
ATP supervisor Roland Herfel appeared in court accompanied by a Russian speaker, who said Rublev was swearing in his native language.
Rublev replied: “I was speaking to him in English.”
But referee Miriam Bley faulted Rublev, after which seventh-seeded Bublik said: “I can continue” the match.
“I highly doubt that Andrey said something crazy,” Bublik told reporters. “He's not that kind of guy. But I guess those are the rules. That's what they did, they just followed procedure.”
“There's not much to say. With all due respect, it was a great match and we both deserved to win. The crowd was there and we could have played each other against each other. “another one of the greatest matches. It's a shame it ended like this.”
Bublik won 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), 6-5 and will face Ugo Humbert in the final after beating top seed Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3.
The default means that Rublev will lose his prize money and ranking points earned during the tournament. Rublev won the hardcourt tournament in 2022, but lost to Medvedev in last year's final.
Bublik was also penalized during the match for an outburst. After tying after a tense second set, Bublik broke his racket and received a code violation for swearing after being broken early in the third set and yelling at the referee.
In the second semi-final, Medvedev, ranked No. 4, was beaten by Humbert for the third time in four clashes. Humbert was aggressive and his left-handed serve sent the Russian player wide to open the court.
“I played the perfect game today,” Humbert said.
The Frenchman's confidence is at an all-time high since winning the Marseille title three weeks ago. It was his fifth career title. He has never lost a final.
Big serve Bublik is seeking his fifth singles title. The Kazakh player won Montpellier last month.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
