WATCH: Andrey Rublev handed shock disqualification from Dubai Tennis Championships after screaming at line umpire
Andrey Rublev's run at the 2024 Dubai Tennis Championships came to a shocking end as he was disqualified from his semifinal match against Alexander Bublik due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
The Russian, who was seeded second at the ATP 500 tournament, booked his place in the last four following wins over Zhang Zhizhen, Arthur Cazaux and Sebastian Korda.
Here, he faced seventh seed Alexander Bublik and won a tightly contested opening set via a tiebreaker. The Kazakh bounced back and took the second set by the same scoreline to force the match into a decider. Rublev was a break up in the third set but Bublik broke him back and led 6-5 when the Russian disagreed with a line call.
The World No. 5, infuriated, went towards the line umpire and screamed at him, following which the official complained to the chair umpire. Rublev was subsequently defaulted from the match, thus giving Alexander Bublik a place in the final, where he will take on either defending champion Daniil Medvedev or fifth seed Ugo Humbert.
Despite the loss on Friday, Andrey Rublev continues to lead 4-2 in the head-to-head against Alexander Bublik. However, the Kazakh has won two out of the last three meetings between them, most notably in the final of the 2023 Terra Wortmann Open in Halle.
Andrey Rublev will leave Top 5 following Dubai default
As a result of his disqualification from the Dubai Tennis Championships, Andrey Rublev will lose all points he earned at the ATP 500 event and will subsequently drop out of the Top 5 of the ATP rankings. Alexander Zverev will thus make a return to the Top 5 as he will rise a spot up to fifth.
Rublev has a 14-4 win-loss record so far in the 2024 season, winning the Hong Kong Open -- his 15th career singles title. The Russian also reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, where he was defeated by eventual champion Jannik Sinner.
Following his shock exit in Dubai, Rublev will next compete at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. The 26-year-old reached the fourth round of the Masters 1000 event in 2023 before losing to 2021 champion Cameron Norrie.