Second seed Andrey Rublev was defaulted from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships semi-finals on Friday for unsportsmanlike conduct after yelling at a line judge in the final set of his clash with Alexander Bublik.
In a chaotic match where both semi-finalists fumed at the officials, Rublev was defaulted by the chair umpire after a Russian-speaking official appeared to accuse him of using an obscenity, while he screamed at the line judge.
Rublev denied the allegation and said he had spoken in English during the confrontation.
A confused Bublik, who clawed his way back from a set down to lead 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-5, was awarded the win despite saying that he would be happy to continue the match.
The Russian-born Kazakh, a childhood friend of Rublev, had fought back from 4-2 down in the decider.
The result meant that Rublev will lose his prize money and ranking points earned at the tournament and that there would be no repeat of last year's title clash where he was beaten by Daniil Medvedev
The top seeded Medvedev is playing against fifth-seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the other last-four clash.
Through to the final in Dubai!
— ATP Tour (@atptour) March 1, 2024
@BublikAlexander advances after Rublev is defaulted at 6-7(4) 7-6(5) 6-5.@DDFTennis | #DDFTennis pic.twitter.com/MjFwHHQigj
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