Lorenzo Sonego accused Andrey Rublev of being disrespectful after his actions at the Moselle Open in Metz last week, but the ten-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist says Novak Djokovic's late withdrawal from the ATP Finals caused the situation.
Rublev is making his fifth consecutive appearance at the ongoing ATP Finals. That is outstanding consistency and an achievement that deserves respect in the tennis world.
The 27-year-old's best performance at the season-ending tournament was a run to the semifinal in 2022. Rublev fell at the round-robin stage in his three other appearances at the ATP Finals.
Unfortunately for Rublev, he has made the worst possible start at this year's iteration of the event. After losing to Alexander Zverev in straight sets, Carlos Alcaraz also defeated him in two sets despite struggling with an illness.
It might seem like Rublev's stress and work to make the ATP Finals were not worth it. However, winning his final match against Alex de Minaur on Friday would at least secure him some prize money and ranking points.
Rublev also caused a minor controversy at the Moselle Open last week in his efforts to reach the ATP Finals. This year's Madrid Open champion entered the tournament in Metz since his place at the season-ending event was not secure.
However, Novak Djokovic withdrew from the ATP Finals after the tournament in Metz and the Serbia Open in Belgrade had already begun. That meant Rublev, de Minaur, and Casper Ruud all qualified.
The timing of Djokovic's announcement was awkward for Rublev since fans had already bought tickets to watch his match against Lorenzo Sonego on that day. Feeling it would be wrong to let the fans down, he played and defeated Sonego in straight sets.
Unsurprisingly, Rublev then withdrew from the Moselle Open. Sonego hit out at the world No. 8, saying his actions were disrespectful and cost lucky losers an opportunity to compete in his place.
Rublev was asked about Sonego's fiery words at an ATP Finals press conference. Although he understood the Italian's feelings, he said the situation only occurred because Djokovic did not withdraw before the Moselle Open and the Serbia Open began.
"I understand his emotions, it was probably badly on my part. Everything is relative. I came to this tournament to get to the Finals. He understood it, the tournament organizers started that Novak would withdraw, Ruud, de Minaur and I were waiting for his decision."
"All the tournaments and players knew about it. If he had withdrawn earlier, no one would have played this tournament. But Novak withdrew on the day of my match."
"I decided to play because the spectators bought tickets. I wanted to somehow compensate for my situation with Turin. I am sure that if Sonego were in my place, he would have done the same."
It is tough to argue against what Rublev is saying. Most players would enter when points might be needed for the ATP Finals and then withdraw to rest for the season-ending event when that is no longer the case.