Former world number one
Jimmy Connors has lambasted officials
for disqualifying Russia’s
Andrey Rublev in the semifinal of the ATP event in
Dubai.
The 26-year-old was disqualified from the semifinal of the
Dubai Duty-Free Championship against Alexander Bublik after allegedly using harsh
words towards one of the line umpires. The move comes at an interesting time as
the third set was nicely poised at 6-5.
Connors, who is an eight-time Grand Slam winner, was
recently quoted in a report criticised the decision and stating that such a move
would take Rublev’s voice away and that it is not okay to make such drastic
decisions without giving a warning.
"[To] default them, you know, not give them a warning,
not give them a point penalty, but just saying, 'You're done',” he said. “I'm
passionate about this, only because they've taken away the voice of a player.
"They've totally taken his voice away, you know, to
where he has to go and conform to whatever has been thrown at him. You know,
'the ball was out', I can't question it... you can't question that, you just
gotta go along with that."
Rublev will now be hoping
to return to winning ways when he will play in the upcoming Indian Wells. The
ATP 1000 event will begin on March 06.