Andrey Rublev was disqualified from his semi-final with Alexander Bublik after being accused of swearing in Russian.
The event took place in Dubai where Rublev had more than enough opportunities to win the match having been 4-2 40-0 up in the deciding set.
However Bublik came back into the match as he caught up with Rublev in what was turning into a fascinating contest.
The score was at 6-5 Bublik when Rublev’s frustrations boiled over when he allegedly told the official at the side of the court that he was a ‘f****** moron’ in Russian.
One of the officials on the sidelines at the side of the court reported the incident and the supervisor ruled that Rublev should be defaulted.
The incident below means that Rublev will now lose all his ranking points and prize money, resulting in Rublev exiting the world’s top five.
An ending that didn’t warrant the dramatic contest and after the match Bublik agreed that the consequences, “I highly doubt Andrey said something crazy,” Bublik was quoted by Sports Illustrated.
“He’s not this kind of guy. But I guess that’s the rules. That’s what they did, they just follow the procedure.”
Bublik will hope for a smoother finish to the final when he takes on Ugo Humbert for the title.
