Andrey Rublev doesn't like to lose, so his racquet paid the price when he lost his first match at the 2024 Barcelona Open.
The Russian player is no stranger to outbursts. He has a well-documented past of multiple incidents where he let emotion get the better of him. Whether it's smashing a racquet or cracking his knee open, Rublev is known for his very demonstrative way of expressing frustration.
As witnessed in Dubai earlier this year, Rublev also occasionally shouts at umpires during his matches, and unfortunately, that moment seems to have completely changed the course of his 2024 season.
He knows it's not a good look and promised to work on it, but his loss at the Barcelona Open was too much. There is good reason for that: For the first time since 2018, Rublev lost four consecutive matches, and that can certainly create a lot of frustration.
The bad run started with the incident at the Dubai Championships, which left many people bewildered by his behavior. He escaped harsh punishment by being allowed to keep his prize money and points, but it seemingly left a mark on Rublev.
He hasn't played very good tennis since then and lost some very winnable matches. He lost to Jiri Lehecka at the Indian Wells Open and Tomas Machac at the Miami Open. Alexei Popyrin beat him at the Monte-Carlo Masters, while Brandon Nakashima beat him in Barcelona.
With all due respect to his opponents, Rublev wins these matchups easily most of the time, but that didn't happen this time around. That streak can certainly grow in the coming weeks because the Madrid Open is a tournament that generally features surprises
It's pretty clear that he's not happy with things that have gone so far, and his frustration after the loss at the ATP 500 event in Barcelona only showed it.