Australian Open 2023: Andrey Rublev and an incident with Ukrainian fans
On the verge of his second-round success at the Australian Open 2023, Andrey Rublev also had to deal with Ukrainian fans.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 20, 2023, 06:22 pm
In terms of sport, Andrey Rublev's second appearance at the Australian Open 2023 went according to plan. The Russian, who had never progressed further than the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament in his career, finally defeated Emil Ruusuvuori after Dominic Thiem, finally the Russian drew 6: 2, 6: 4, 6: 7 (2 ) and 6:3 into the round of 32.
There was more excitement than on the pitch in a confrontation between Ukrainian fans and Andrey Rublev. They came onto the court with flags in their national colors and are said to have bothered Rublev during the change of sides. For this reason, the number five of the tournament complained to the chair umpire at the beginning of the second set.
Rublev clarifies
Careful not to give the wrong impression with his criticism, the Russian was keen to uncover the circumstances of his complaint following his progress: "It wasn't about the flag," explained Rublev. "I told the referee straight away it's not about the flag, they can put up any flag they want as I totally understand the situation." Russian athletes have also been criticized for the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. Rublev kept trying to use his platform for calls for peace.
Anyway, the 25-year-old seemed to be affected by the heckling from the stands: "It was like they started throwing bad words and bad things at me. I said to the referee: 'It's not about the flag, but please say at least tell them not to say bad words when I'm changing sides," said Rublev, who met Brit Dan Evans in lap three.
laver arena