John McEnroe weighs in on Rublev's emotional outburst at French Open

Saturday, 01 June 2024 at 11:21

Former world number one John McEnroe believes that Russia’s tennis star Andrey Rublev has ‘crossed a line for himself’ after defeat in the third round of the French Open.

The 26-year-old lost in straight sets to Italy's Matteo Arnaldi in the round of 32 clash at Roland Garros on Friday, with a score of 7-6, 6-2, 6-4. During the match, the current world number six was frustrated with his performance.

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McEnroe, who is also famous for showing emotions on the court during his time, was quoted in a report recently stating that while he can understand Rublev's reaction, he still believes that he did cross a line for ‘himself’.

“Whether or not he crossed a line is irrelevant at this point,” McEnroe said. “I don’t think he crossed a line; he crossed a line for himself.

“Take it from someone who knows about going crazy, if you’re going to go crazy, you’ve got to know when you’ve got to pull back so you can keep your focus and concentration, and play well. If it’s helping you, which it often did with me, you keep doing it until they say ‘One more and you’re out’. If it’s not helping, you’ve got to go to a plan B.

“This has been a rough couple of months for Andrey. He got defaulted in the Middle East and that turned out not to be the right call. Then he went through a four-match losing streak; doesn’t beat anybody. Then he wins Madrid of all things having not won, so everyone was like, ‘Woah, maybe he can win this.’. I don’t think his confidence was that high.

“I’ve seen Rublev go crazy before. This isn’t the first time. He’s a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve. My agent, Gary Swain, when Andrey was 15 or 16, told me ‘You got to coach the guy!’. In some ways, I think he was right. We were cut out for each other.”

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina

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Azeem Siddiqui

Azeem Siddiqui is a seasoned sports journalist and data analyst with a strong background in both digital media and live sports production.

He began his journalism career working with partners of The New York Times and has since contributed to several leading international sports publications, including Fox Sports Asia, Calciomercato, and GiveMeSport. Since 2023, Azeem has been part of the TennisUpToDate team, where he has played a key role in sustaining the platform’s growth and ensuring tennis fans receive timely and reliable coverage of the sport’s biggest stories.

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