French Open: 'He crossed a line for himself' - John McEnroe reacts to Andrey Rublev 'going crazy' in defeat

John McEnroe has said that Andrey Rublev "crossed a line for himself" after the Russian self-destructed in pure frustration during his third-round French Open defeat to Matteo Arnaldi. The sixth seed was beaten in straight sets by the Italian, and suffered an emotional meltdown more than once as he exited Roland-Garros at the third round for the second consecutive year.

'He crossed a line for himself' - McEnroe on Rublev's 'self-destruction'

Video credit: TNT Sports

Eurosport expert John McEnroe has said that Andrey Rublev “crossed a line for himself” after the world No. 6 furiously vented his frustrations during his French Open third-round defeat.

The Russian was beaten in straight sets by the unseeded Italian Matteo Arnaldi, who played well, but was buoyed by Rublev’s numerous outbursts as the sixth seed’s temper boiled over.

It is the second year in a row that Rublev has exited Roland-Garros in the third round at the hands of an Italian, after he was beaten by Lorenzo Sonego at the same stage in 2023.

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Rublev had been in mixed form in the lead-up to Paris, winning the Madrid Masters before being knocked out in the second round of the Rome Open by Alexandre Muller.

Now, McEnroe, renowned for his own on-court villainy, has shown Rublev some compassion, but did say that the Russian had crossed a line for himself.

“Whether or not he crossed a line is irrelevant at this point,” McEnroe said. “I don’t think he crossed a line; he crossed a line for himself.

“Take it from someone who knows about going crazy, if you’re going to go crazy, you’ve got to know when you’ve got to pull back so you can keep your focus and concentration, and play well. If it’s helping you, which it often did with me, you keep doing it until they say ‘One more and you’re out’. If it’s not helping, you’ve got to go to a plan B.

“This has been a rough couple of months for Andrey. He got defaulted in the Middle East and that turned out not to be the right call. Then he went through a four-match losing streak; doesn’t beat anybody. Then he wins Madrid of all things having not won, so everyone was like, ‘Woah, maybe he can win this.’. I don’t think his confidence was that high.

“I’ve seen Rublev go crazy before. This isn’t the first time. He’s a guy that wears his emotions on his sleeve. My agent, Gary Swain, when Andrey was 15 or 16, told me ‘You got to coach the guy!’. In some ways, I think he was right. We were cut out for each other.”

French Open highlights - Arnaldi claims big upset over fiery Rublev

Video credit: TNT Sports

Fellow Eurosport pundit Tim Henman also voiced his concerns over Rublev’s inability to progress beyond the last eight of a Grand Slam, but highlighted his previous triumphs at major clay-court tournaments.

“It’s become a little bit psychological because you see the results he’s had on clay,” Henman explained.

“He won the Masters 1000 in Madrid, he’s won Monte Carlo before. He’s winning at tour level, but when he gets to the Grand Slams, getting past the quarter-finals [has] proved too difficult.

“Maybe that’s what happened today; it got too big a thing mentally. He’s self-destructed. If you’re going to go crazy, it does happen. But then you’ve got to be able to react and say, ‘Okay, I’ve let my frustration out, now I’ve got to start playing ball.’ It never happened.

"It was a very honest press conference. I like that; he wasn’t blaming anyone else. He said he was embarrassed by his behaviour, but now you’ve got to see the reaction.

“He’s been on tour a long time, and think ‘That was detrimental to my performance, I can’t let it happen again if I want to go further in the Slams.’”

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