Video - When Rublev hit his knee with his racket at Paris-Bercy in 2024

This season, Andrey Rublev successfully started his campaign at the Paris Masters. The Russian dominated Jacob Fearnley without faltering this Monday (6-1, 6-4) and qualified for the second round where he will face Learner Tien this Tuesday. Last year, the current world No. 17 did not experience the joy of winning his first match in the previous edition of the Parisian tournament held at Bercy.

Facing Francisco Cerundolo, he had fallen in two sets last year (7-6, 7-6 in 2h18), while he was still in the running to qualify for the ATP Finals (which he ultimately managed to do the following week at the Metz tournament). During the match, Rublev, who had the break in his pocket in the first set, lashed out at a spectator by shouting: 'Shut up!' after a net fault.

With his back against the wall and trailing 0/40 on his serve, he then gave up his break advantage, before exploding with his racket and injuring his knee to the point of making it bleed (see video below). A tension due to the pressure of qualifying for the Masters, which he had mentioned before the tournament.

"Last year (in 2023), I think I didn't even check the rankings once, because I qualified quite early. But these last two weeks, I check the Race rankings every day. The difference in points.

I check the other players' tournaments. I check the draw. It's crazy. During the tournament, when I'm playing, I try not to follow all that. But, of course, even if I don't want to, I know the other players' results, I'm not going to lie.

Because you hear them or see them anyway. But I don't deliberately check when they are playing or who they are playing and that kind of thing," he had stated before the last Masters 1000 of the season.