What happened to Andrey Rublev (24)?
In his first-round match at the French Open, the Russian turned freely.
In the 6: 7, 6: 3, 6: 2 and 6: 4 against Soonwoo Kwon, the tennis pro hits a ball with full force after losing the first set out of frustration.
The felt projectile unintentionally ricochets off his bench and shoots the peaked cap off the head of a helper who is just clearing the spot.
Great luck for the young man AND Rublev – the ball misses the helper’s face by a hair’s breadth. Instead of a serious facial injury, he escapes with a fright.
And Rublev avoids an otherwise probably safe tournament by disqualification. But the chair umpire let the 24-year-old get away with a warning.
The fans gave a loud whistling concert for the unsportsmanlike action. That didn’t seem to bother the Russians much, however. On the contrary. When he got there, Rublev slammed a drinking bottle on the ground, which then burst.
After his game, the Russian then apologized for his behavior.
Rublev: “I regret what I did. Hitting the ball like I did is unacceptable. I lost my mind for a moment.”
