Nick Kyrgios weighs in on Andrey Rublev’s French Open meltdown as he hints at hypocrisy
Nick Kyrgios appeared to take issue with perceived hypocrisy in the reaction to Andrey Rublev’s meltdown in his defeat at the 2024 French Open.
Rublev being unable to control his emotions during matches has become a recurring problem and this was perhaps the worst instance yet of his frustration boiling over.
The world No 6 fell to a 6-7(6), 2-6, 4-6 upset defeat to talented 23-year-old Italian Matteo Arnaldi in the third round at Roland Garros on Friday.
The 26-year-old lost a tight opening set against the world No 35 after being a break up and having a set point and was unable to recover his composure thereafter.
Rublev frequently lashed out at his legs and the court with his racket, while he repeatedly shouted towards his team and berated himself.
It was an afternoon to forget for Andrey Rublev at Roland-Garros #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/U0ou2C16Ca
— Eurosport (@eurosport) May 31, 2024
The Russian was disqualified from his semi-final match against Alexander Bublik at the Dubai Championships in March for shouting at a line judge.
Following that incident, Rublev lost four of his next five matches before he bounced back by winning the Madrid Open Masters 1000 event at the start of May.
Kyrgios, who is no stranger to on-court outbursts, responded to a post sharing an exchange between Rublev and a journalist after the Russian’s loss to Arnaldi.
The reporter asked: “We could see your emotions on court and what it meant to you. Now you have had time to reflect. What are the emotions you’re feeling after a defeat like that?”
Rublev replied: “Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed, and I don’t remember behaving worse on a slams ever. I think it was the first time I ever behaved that bad.”
Funny how we pick and choose when we ask ‘could see your emotions on court and how much it meant to you’ compared to ‘disgrace’ (disrespect)
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 1, 2024
Kyrgios contrasted this focus on Rublev’s emotions illustrating his passion for tennis with being labelled a “disgrace”, which is something he has experienced for some of his behaviour during matches.
“Funny how we pick and choose when we ask ‘could see your emotions on court and how much it meant to you’ compared to ‘disgrace’ (disrespect),” the 28-year-old wrote on X.
Rublev struggled to explain his meltdown considering he had been in great form, having recently won a big title in Madrid.
“I don’t know what happened to me, I had a really good result in Madrid,” he said in his press conference.
“Now I’m playing well again. What’s more, I feel like I have a good game, I’m improving. The problem is the head, which basically killed me today, and that’s it.”
