Concerning scenes at US Open as Andrey Rublev injures himself in frustration, needs medical time-out after hands start bleeding
Andrey Rublev's fourth-round clash against Grigor Dimitrov at the 2024 US Open witnessed some concerning scenes on Sunday after the Russian inflicted an injury on himself out of frustration. Trailing in the match, Rublev hit his hands in anger against the racket, which caused his hands to bleed.
Rublev came into the battle against Dimitrov with wins over Arthur Rinderknech and Jiri Lehecka. The Bulgarian, on the other hand, came with three straight-set wins under his belt, most recently against Tallon Griekspoor in the third round.
Under the sun on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was Dimitrov who started strong, going 4-1 up with two breaks of serve. That was when Rublev's annoyance boiled over, causing the sixth seed to injure himself. A medical time-out was quickly called into effect, following which the clash resumed. Andrey Rublev went on to lose the set 3-6 a short while later.
This is not the first time the 26-year-old's temper has been visible on the tennis court. Earlier this year, he bloodied his own knee with a painful racket smash during his opening-round loss, before which he displayed similar behavior during his third-round loss at the French Open.
Andrey Rublev on his behavior issues at French Open: "First time I ever behaved that bad"
Speaking to the press after a particularly poor display at the 2024 French Open, where the Russian broke several rackets and kicked his bench in frustration multiple times, Andrey Rublev acknowledged his actions and shared his disappointment at the way he behaved.
The World No. 6 further noted that his behavior was also affecting his results at the end of the day, and felt that his third-round loss at Roland Garros was primarily because he couldn't control his 'head.'
"Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed, and I don't remember behaving worse on a Slam ever. I think it was the first time I ever behaved that bad. Not much to say," Rublev said.
"It's more I feel that I have a good game, I'm improving. The problem is the head, that today basically I kill myself and that's it," he added.
Meanwhile, in the US Open fourth-round clash against Grigor Dimitrov, Rublev lost the second set 7-6(3) in a tiebreaker but then bounced back to take the next two sets 6-1, 6-3 and force a decider.