Watch: Andrey Rublev displays sportsmanship, tells opponent Arthur Fils to challenge a wrong service call made against him in Hong Kong
Just five days into the New Year, Andrey Rublev's act of sportsmanship at the Hong Open already makes for a strong contender at the end of the season award.
The top seed carved out a hard-fought 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Fils. The pair traded blows across all three sets, with Rublev prevailing in the end.
Rublev's act of sportsmanship came during his quarterfinal match against French teen Arthur Fils. Late in the first set, Fils's first serve was called out by the line umpire, which led to him asking the umpire if it was close or not.
"It's close," the umpire replied.
It was then that Andrey Rublev pointed at a mark and asked the umpire if it was that one specifically. As soon as he was given the confirmation, he proceeded to advise Arthur Fils to challenge the line call.
"Challenge it," Rublev said firmly.
Arthur Fils challenged the call and won the point, leading to the crowd breaking into applause for the Russian.
Andrey Rublev is slated to take on China’s Shang Juncheng in the sem-final on Saturday (January 6). Sebastian Ofner and Emil Ruusuvuori will battle it out in the other semi-final.
Andrey Rublev and Arthur Fils featured in a doubles match together at 2023 Laver Cup
Andrey Rublev and Arthur Fils featured for Team Europe in last year's Laver Cup held in Vancouver, Canada. Fils was a replacement for Stefanos Tsitsipas who withdrew from the tournament with an injury.
Fils played twice on the opening day, beginning proceedings in the singles against Ben Shelton of Team World. In a battle of the teens, the Frenchman came up short 6-7 (4-7), 1-6. The match, however, saw some great camaraderie from Team Europe, with Monfils and Rublev giving Fils tips during a break in the first set.
Rublev and Fils took the court together in the last game of the day against the Americans Francis Tiafoe and Tommy Paul. In a grueling match, Team World ended up outlasting the Russian-French pair 6-3, 4-6, [10-6].
Rublev didn't have much luck in the singles either, losing to Taylor Fritz 2-6, 6-7 (3-7) in the opening match on day 2. Team World ended up winners with a dominant 13-2 victory over Team Europe.