Russian star Andrey Rublev has landed himself in hot water at the French Open after almost hitting a court sweeper in the head with a ball he hit in anger.
The seventh seed survived a massive first-set scare to move past Kwon Soon-woo 6-7 (5) 6-3 6-2 6-4 and advance to the second round.
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However the 24-year-old let his frustrations boil over after losing the first-set tiebreak, angrily smashing a ball that bounced off his chair and narrowly missed the head of a groundsman sweeping the court.
The force of the ball knocked the groundsman’s hat off, and Rublev was extremely lucky that it didn’t actually hit him.
It immediately evoked memories of Novak Djokovic being defaulted from the US Open in 2020 when he inadvertently hit a line judge with a ball he struck in anger.
Had Rublev’s ball hit the groundsman, he almost certainly would have suffered the same fate as Djokovic and been kicked out of the tournament.
Instead he received a code violation and was allowed to continue.
“I lost my mind for a moment, and of course I regret what I did,” Rublev said after the match.
“It’s unacceptable to hit the way the ball I hit it.
“Better if I just hit the racquet on the seat, because the ball can affect someone.
“This is unprofessional from my side, and hopefully I will never do it again.”
Tennis fans and commentators were left shocked by the ugly incident.
