Andrey Rublev was disqualified from his semifinal during the Dubai Championships on Friday for yelling at a line judge.
Alexander Bublik will advance to Saturday’s final against Ugo Humbert of France.
Rublev got upset over a missed call on the baseline, which he believed favored Bublik. The incident occurred with Bublik leading 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-5 in the deciding set.
After the disputed point, Rublev, ranked fifth in the ATP Rankings, confronted the line judge, leading to his disqualification by umpire Miriam Bley.
“I highly doubt Andrey said something crazy,” Bublik commented. “He’s not this kind of guy. But I guess that’s the rules. That’s what they did, they just follow the procedure. … There’s not much to say. With all due respect, it was a great match and both of us deserved to win. The crowd was there and we could have played one of the greatest matches against each other. It’s a pity it ended like this.”
Daria Kasatkina, a fellow Russian and ranked No. 12 in the women’s rankings, criticized the decision on Twitter, calling for video replays and electronic line calling in all tournaments.
Due to the default, Rublev will lose ranking points and the prize money he earned for reaching the semifinals.