Andy Murray and Andrey Rublev are set to square off at the Indian Wells Masters, and the Briton shared his thoughts about his opponent's recent on-court behavior.
Rublev was infamously defaulted while competing at the Dubai Championships. He was locked in a tight semifinal clash against Alexander Bublik when, deep in the third set, he lashed out at any official over a shot that he felt was long.
A furious Rublev shouted at the line judge sitting adjacent to the tramline. Another official who overheard him reported the incident to the chair umpire, in which it was alleged that Rublev used obscene language.
The chair umpire requested that the tournament supervisor make his way onto the court before it was agreed that World No. 5 would be disqualified from the match. Despite contesting the call, Rublev eventually packed his bags and left the court.
The decision generated many mixed reactions on social media. While fellow players like Daria Kasatkina and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina backed Rublev, several fans and pundits saw the darker side of the incident, in which they felt the 26-year-old went overboard with his antics.
Murray, who will face the hard-hitting Russian later on Friday, commented on his opponent's unsportsmanlike conduct. The three-time Grand Slam champion opined that tennis players needed to be careful when talking to officials.
The former World No. 1 believes tennis pros could learn from Rugby in managing and speaking to officials. Murray also stated he has been culpable in controlling his emotions.
"All of us players - and I think I've been guilty of it myself - we need to be a little bit careful of the way that we speak to officials and treat officials."
"There's a huge difference between rugby and football - rugby is a great example for how to deal with it. Officials are dealt with respectfully and we could probably do a better job with it in tennis as well."
Murray and Rublev are tied at 1-1 in their head-to-head but haven't played each other since 2021. The 36-year-old intends to retire from professional tennis this season, so this could be his last appearance at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
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