Emotional scenes at Cincinnati Open as Andrey Rublev sobs in a towel during intense battle and shock loss to Emil Ruusuvuori
Andrey Rublev was unable to control his emotions as he was seen sobbing during a marathon clash with Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori at the Cincinnati Open on Tuesday, August 16.
Ruusuvuori registered his first victory against Rublev on Tuesday in the second round of the Western and Southern Open. He battled it out for three hours and 16 minutes to upset World No. 7 Rublev.
Rublev started the match clumsily as he committed four double faults and struggled with his first serve, with a dull success rate of 49 percent. The World No. 8 could not stop the opening set from going into a tie-break and allowed Ruusuvuori to take the lead.
Rublev improved his service game in the next set, but unseeded Ruusuvuori didn't allow him to run away with the momentum. The duo went back and forth in the final set, breaking each other twice.
However, Ruusuvuori eventually trumped the Russian to win the match 7-6(10), 5-7, 7-6(3) to set up a meeting with lucky loser Alexei Popyrin.
Rublev fought hard until the end but was couldn't overcome his opponent. He was also seen sobbing in a towel during the final set of the encounter, suggesting that he was struggling emotionally as well as physically.
Rublev had played Rusuuvuori twice before this meeting. Their most recent clash was at the Australian Open in January this year, where the Russian had emerged victorious 6-2, 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3. He had also defeated Rusuuvuori in straight sets in Dubai two years ago.
Andrey Rublev's poor run at hard courts in North America continues
Andrey Rublev has struggled to make his mark on the hard courts of North America this year.
He managed to reach the quarterfinal at Indian Wells in March but was defeated in straight sets by lower-seeded Cameron Norrie of Great Britain. The Russian then reached the last eight during the Miami Masters but could not manage to go past Jannik Sinner, going down in straight sets again.
Lately, Rublev was comprehensively beaten at the hands of World No. 43 Mackenzie McDonald in the pre-quarters of the Canadian Open. Better-ranked Rublev was not even able to put up a fight against McDonald as it took the latter only 90 minutes to claim the match 6-4, 6-3.
The 25-year-old began the North American hard court tour looking to consolidate his claim to a seat at the ATP Finals. But after first-round defeats in Toronto and Cincinnati, Rublev has given players ranked below him in the race to Turin an opportunity to overtake him from sixth place.