OfLorenzo Nicolao
The Russian tennis player Rublev lost his mind at Roland Garros, with numerous outbursts of anger: he screams, curses, kicks a billboard, throws his racket and hits himself on the leg
Exceptional Matteo Arnaldi, disastrous Andrei Rublev. Having beaten the hosts Arthur Fils and Alexandre Muller, the Ligurian tennis player beat the Russian world number 6 in three sets in the third round of Roland Garros with a performance close to perfection. A match that literally made the opponent lose his mind, who, faced with the unexpected difficulties of the match, let himself go into yet another outburst of anger.
Rublev hits himself with the racket
First set tie break. This is the moment in which a concentrated Arnaldi manages to get the better of Rublev, even canceling out a set point (winning the play-off of the set 8-6). But it is in the second set that the Russian explodes in all his frustration, reconfirming the fragility of character with an irrepressible reaction. First the nervousness he showed after being beaten from 40-0 to 40-40 at 2-2, but in this phase he limited himself to shouting. Then the definitive explosion, when the Italian capitalizes on the break points gained and takes home the second set with the net result of 6-2. Rublev throws his racket to the ground with a gesture of annoyance, wriggles, curses, he’s angry with himself, he goes towards the station and kicks a poster. The outbursts of anger do not end here, because it is in the third and final set, where Arnaldi manages everything, Rublev nothing, that the Russian begins to violently hitting one’s leg with the racket. Despite the anger, the number 6 in the ranking shortened his score, but the 23-year-old did not let himself be distracted and also collected the third set, won 6-4, deservedly reaching the round of 16. The Russian’s final reaction of pride was of no use, because Rublev, with his state of mind, never gave the idea of being able to come back. Too much dominated by emotions, anger and his inability to manage the pressure during the match.
Rublev’s background
These outings are not new for the Moscow tennis player. Before this occasion, he had already shown his short temper at the ATP Finals last November, in the match against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, when he injured his knee with the racket. A month later, during an Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition match against Holger Rune, he tried to put his hands on the chair umpire for what he believed to be a refereeing oversight. Then the disqualification in the Dubai semi-final against the Kazakh Alexandr Bublik (another player known for his smoking nature), due to of some insults shouted in the face of the line judge. Finally, in Barcelona, yet another episode in the debut match lost at the ATP 500 in Barcelona, against the American of Japanese and Vietnamese origins Brandon Nakashima (current number 84 in the ranking). After the missed backhand that decided the match, Rublev started hitting the court with his racket until he completely destroyed it. His character is thus reconfirmed as the real obstacle between the 26-year-old tennis player and the goals he will be able to achieve in his career.
Arnaldi happy
A completely different mood characterizes the present of Arnaldi, who reached the Slam round of 16 for the first time in his career Parisian. Now another prohibitive challenge looms for him, the one with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, fresh winner on clay of the Monte Carlo tournament. The Ligurian commented on the victory and the moment of Italian tennis with these words: «We Italians encourage each other to always do better. We have faith and lately it’s been working. I played the best tennis of my life. Rublev wasn’t at his best, but I’m really happy. A great result against a great player.” Anger permitting.
June 1, 2024
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