Andy Roddick says Andrey Rublev absolutely should have reacted and done better whether or not he was right about the call when going ballistic on a line umpire in Dubai.
On Friday, Rublev was in the middle of a two-and-a-half thriller against Alexander Bublik in the Dubai semifinal when he thought that a line umpire made a wrong call on the Kazakh’s game point. By winning that point, Bublik went 6-5 up in the third set but Rublev had a hard time accepting it and he approached a line umpire and got into his face screaming.
Another line umpire got involved, claiming that Rublev was hurling obscenities in Russian. Rublev got disqualified and that’s how a great matchup and a thriller finish ended in a very unfortunate way.
The incident itself sparked a major debate within the tennis community as some have sided with Rublev, others have been calling out his actions, while some have argued that having the electronic line system in all tournaments could solve everything.
On Monday, the ATP issued a statement, in which they announced that Rublev’s Dubai ranking points and money were reinstated because the conclusion was that taking them away “would be disproportionate in this case.” But also, the ATP confirmed that Rublev’s fine of $36,400 for his unsportsmanlike conduct remains.
“Rublev can’t be that upset. Whether he deserved it or he didn’t, he put himself in position for someone to be able to make a judgment call,” Roddick said on Served with Andy Roddick on T2.
“He has to now give up his prize money for the week, his ATP ranking points for the week, drops him out of the Top 5 in the world. I don’t know what his meltdown on Friday has to do with his first, second, and third-round victories.
“He will have some of the blame because he went too far, but taking the money for the week, taking away the points because of a judgment call of some guy in a chair, that doesn’t make sense to me.”
Andrey Rublev© Getty Images Sport – Christopher Pike
Roddick on Rafael Nadal still playing
Meanwhile, 2003 US Open champion Roddick was in Las Vegas on Sunday night to commentate on the Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz exhibition.
This past Sunday marked a special day as Nadal – a 22-time Grand Slam champion – and 20-year-old Alcaraz clashed in the Netflix Slam, the first-ever tennis match aired live on Netflix. And the two tennis superstars didn’t disappoint as Alcaraz edged out Nadal in a thriller 3-6 6-4 14-12.
With 37-year-old Nadal possibly retiring later this year, Roddick took a moment to acknowledge the Spaniard’s greatness.
“It’s fantastic (to have Nadal back). Listen, the sport, since the moment he entered the arena, has been better for having had Rafa Nadal in the building,” Roddick said on air.
“I view this today as a celebration of himself against the person who is hopefully going to follow his legacy with Carlos Alcaraz. I feel lucky to be in the building.”
Rafael Nadal© Getty Images Entertainment Chris Unger
Roddick’s Grand Slam prediction for Alcaraz
During the Netflix Slam, Roddick also predicted a very bright Grand Slam future for Alcaraz, who will be turning 21 in May but already has two Slams in his pocket.
After becoming a Grand Slam champion at the 2022 US Open, Alcaraz lifted his second Grand Slam title in a very impressive way as he defeated Novak Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon final. By beating Djokovic, Alcaraz became the first player since 2018 to beat Djokovic at Wimbledon and he also prevented the Serb from tying Roger Federer’s all-time record of eight titles at The All England Club.
Reflecting on Alcaraz winning his second Slam title at Wimbledon last year, Roddick said “taking out the king for his second Slam put him on an absolute global stage” and added the 20-year-old Spaniard is “just getting started” and that the feeling is like “he won two Slams just for practice.”
Roddick, who was commentating on the Netflix Slam alongside former eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi, predicted that Alcaraz should easily reach Agassi’s Slam numbers. Also, Roddick highlighted he is not ruling the possibility of Alcaraz winning 10+ Slams.
I don’t think there is one for him [a ceiling]. The Big 3 have renogiated what a ceiling looks like. Before he even won a Slam, people were asking me, ‘Is he going to win 10?’ That’s a little ridiculous when you have names like Agassi, McEnroe, and Connors, who won 8-7,” Roddick said.
“But I think he’s going to be in that range for sure, as bottom. And I think he has the potential to maybe get double digits. Listen, we have to reset our expectations a little bit.”
Carlos Alcaraz© Getty Images Sport – Julian Finney
Since winning Wimbledon, Alcaraz lost in the US Open semifinal to Daniil Medvedev before losing to Alexander Zverev in this year’s Australian Open quarterfinal.
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