Andrey Rublev hasn't experienced the happiest of times on the tennis courts in recent months, and it continued at the 2024 Bastad Open.
The Russian's 2024 season has been one of his most bizarre seasons on the ATP Tour, if not the most bizarre one. It started in the best possible way for him, as he was able to win the title at the Hong Kong Open at the start of the year.
He then continued with quarter-final at the Australian Open, which, considering he only lost to the eventual champion and current World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, was a good showing. But only a few weeks later, the turning point of the season came in Dubai.
Competing at the 2024 Dubai Championships, Rublev was playing a very intense match with Kazakhstan' Alexander Bublik. The first two sets were decided in tie-breaks, and the third set was only one game away from being decided in yet another tie-break. However, it never got there.
Rublev furiously shouted at one of the line judges from close proximity, and as a result of his actions, he was disqualified from the match. The 26-year-old isn't a stranger to furious outbursts, but this one was over the line, and it seemingly impacted him also in the remainder of the season.
After the disqualification, he beat Andy Murray in Indian Wells, but following that win, the Russian player lost four consecutive matches, only to shockingly win the 2024 Madrid Open, while beating Carlos Alcaraz along the way, and doing so under anesthesia.
It was a triumph that came out of nowhere, of course, not considering his qualities, but considering the fact that he entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak. Still, if Rublev hoped that this positive moment would put his season back where he started it, it didn't.
He lost four of his following six matches, including a shock loss to the World No. 100, Francisco Comesana, in the opening round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships. Rublev also announced that he wouldn't be taking part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but he still signed up for a clay-court tournament in Bastad, which many players use as a warm-up for the Olympic Games.
Rublev's reasoning was probably different, as he was the defending champion at the ATP 250 tournament, but this year, his journey ended already in the second round on the racket of the World No. 121, Thiago Agustin Tirante.
Earlier on the day, the second-seeded Casper Ruud lost in his first match in Bastad, opening up the path to the title for the defending champion, but he couldn't use his chance.
In his match against the Argentinian, both players showed solid serving in the opening set of the match, as there was nothing between them, so a tie-break had to decide it.
The Russian led 3-1 early in the tie-break, but he wasn't able to translate that lead into a set win, as he lost the opening-set tie-break 5-7, having to recover a one-set deficit already in his first match as the defending champion in Bastad.
However, things were going really well for him in the second set of the match. The top seed was able to hit six winners, and he won 90% of rallies after his opponent's second serve, which proved to be crucial.
The Madrid Open champion was broken once, but he also managed to break his less-experienced opponent's serve three times to easily win the second set 6-3 and force the decider under the floodlights in the Swedish city.
Yet, he didn't start the third set well. He was broken in the third game of the match and down 1-3, another situation that upset Rublev. After his first serve in the game, he thought his opponent stopped the play, thinking the serve was out.
However, the rally continued, and Tirante won it, as the Russian player immediately exploded at the match umpire, Louis Boucharinc. According to Rublev, his opponent clearly stopped the play.
"He stopped the play, he stopped the play."
After consulting the umpire, Rublev also turned to his opponent, demanding to know whether he stopped the play.
"Tell me, we're not gonna replay the point, but tell me [whether you stopped the point]."
Tirante insisted that he didn't stop the play, to which the first seed sarcastically replied: "Thank you for being honest."
After the incident, he was able to hold his serve and in the following game, he even had one break-back point, after recovering from a 0-40 deficit, still, he wasn't able to turn around the match, losing in three sets 6-7(5), 6-3, 4-6.
This loss means that Rublev will also slide further down the rankings, as he'll only earn 10 ATP rankings points for his early exit, losing a total of 240 points compared to last year's 250-point win.
As a result, he will slide behind Casper Ruud, who also lost points, but fewer than the Russian, who will be the World No. 9 on Monday, unless Stefanos Tsitsipas wins the title in Gstaad, then he would drop down by one more position.
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