Andrey Rublev has had his Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships prize money and ranking points reinstated after the ATP reviewed an appeal from the Russian player following his default from his semi-final against Alexander Bublik last Friday.
The world No 5 has been fined $36,400 for the code violation he received for his outburst against a line judge late in the third set of his clash with Bublik, but he still walks away from Dubai with $157,755 in prize money for making the semi-finals, and 200 ranking points.
In a statement sent to The National from the ATP’s communications team, the tour clarified that further investigation into the matter of Rublev’s default showed that withholding prize money and ranking points from the player “would be disproportionate in this case”.
“The ATP has reviewed an appeal from Andrey Rublev, following the player’s default from the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai,” read the statement.
“The appeal process took into consideration testimonies from the player, officials, as well as a review of all available video and audio materials.
“The appeals committee concluded that, beyond forfeiting the match, customary penalties associated with a default – namely loss of rankings points and prize money for the entire tournament – would be disproportionate in this case.
“As such, Rublev retains semi-final points and prize money for the tournament. A fine of $36,400 for the code violation remains.”
During his semi-final against Bublik, Rublev screamed in the face of a line judge and was accused by a different line official to have used profanity, in Russian, towards his colleague.
The 26-year-old Rublev denied the accusation and insisted he had only spoken in English, without using any profanity. But ATP supervisor Roland Herfel sided with the line judge and defaulted the No 2 seed.
Rublev did not speak to the press following the incident but his opponent Bublik, who tried to convince officials to complete the match, said: “I highly doubt that Andrey said something crazy. He's not this kind of guy.”
Rublev is next due on court at the Masters 1000 tournament in Indian Wells, which begins its main draw action on Wednesday.
