Andrey Rublev smashes racquet in frustration during Madrid Open loss

Andrey Rublev lost his composure during his fourth-round loss to Karen Khachanov and smashed his racquet after missing an easy shot at the 2023 Madrid Masters. The 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters champion went down in straight sets to his compatriot 7-6(8), 6-4.

Rublev defeated Khachanov in the Round of 16 en route to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Monte-Carlo last month. However, Khachanov got his revenge over his good friend and doubles partner Rublev in Madrid. He also registered his first victory over a top-10 player on clay since 2019.

Rublev lost the first set tie-break despite holding set points at 6-4. His compatriot responded well to take the tie-break 10-8. Rublev was under pressure in the second set, as Khachanov had a break point in the second set. The 25-year-old hit a volley wide from close to the net, which handed his opponent a break of serve to go up 2-1.

A frustrated Rublev reacted by throwing his racquet hard onto the court, picking it up, and then throwing it again. Here's a video of the incident:

“It be like that some days (melting face emoji),” read the caption from Tennis TV.

Khachanov now leads 3-2 in his head-to-head with Rublev. He will face Carlos Alcaraz, who recently defeated Alexander Zverev, in the quarterfinals.

Rublev and Khachanov will compete in the doubles quarterfinals on Wednesday, May 3 against Jamie Murray and Michael Venus.

Andrey Rublev joked about having easier draws as a lower-ranked player

Andrey Rublev joked about tough draws

2023 Monte-Carlo champion Andrey Rublev defeated Stan Wawrinka in the second round of the 2023 Madrid Masters 7-5, 6-4. After the match, the Russian joked that he used to receive easier draws as a top-40-ranked player than he does as a top-10-ranked player.

"I'm happy that I'm going to the next round because when I saw the draw, I was like, it's amazing being the 5th seed and having Wawrinka in the first round," said the World No. 6.

"Sometimes I was 40 in the world, and I had a much easier draw," he added.

Despite exiting the 2023 Madrid Masters, Andrey Rublev has been in incredible form on clay this season. His win-loss record now stands at 10-2, with one title already in the bag. The Russian will hope to make a deep run at the French Open, where he lost to Marin Cilic after a tough five-setter in the quarterfinals last year.