'Rublev can't be that upset': Andy Roddick weighs in on Andrey Rublev's Dubai default

In the two-plus days since Andrey Rublev’s disqualification in Dubai during the third set of his semifinal match against Alexander Bublik, debate has continously simmered in the tennis world about the incident and its aftermath. Many players came forward with their opinions—Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Daria Kasatkina were among those who believed the disqualification to be unfair—with a few commentators, like Brad Gilbert, also among those joining the chorus.

Tennis.com’s Stephanie Livaudais went as far as to challenge the sport’s need for video assistant referee (VAR)—but the debate hasn't just been confined to social media. In the T2 debut episode of Served with Andy Roddick, Roddick and Jon Wertheim quickly discover their shared opinions on the controversy. (T2 is Tennis Channel’s second network, and the show airs Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.)

“Rublev can't be that upset,” Roddick said. “Whether he deserved it or he didn't, he put himself in position for someone to be able to make a judgment call.”

While Roddick says that Rublev "went too far" in his confrontation with the official, what also went too far, in Roddick’s opinion, is the punishment that comes in addition to the disqualification.

“He has to now give up his prize money for the week, his ATP ranking points for the week, drops him out of the Top 5 in the world,” he said. “I don't know what his meltdown on Friday has to do with his first, second, and third-round victories.” (Editor's note: on Monday, the tour reinstated Rublev's prize money and ranking points, but he was issued a $36,000 fine.)

"He will have some of the blame because he went too far, but taking the money for the week, taking away the points because of a judgment call of some guy in a chair, that doesn’t make sense to me.”

Wertheim was also taken aback, saying that a Google Translate confirmation would be one thing, but a guy-who-speaks-Russian translation of what was said is a pretty quick whistle to blow.

“If there’s an element of danger like Tsitsipas rifling the ball into a crowd of Wimbledon and it almost hits a kid, not cool,” Wertheim said, while questioning: “If a tennis player in the third set is frustrated and he takes out some aggression and says some things he shouldn't say in a different language than the recipient, is that really worthy of default?”

Wertheim defended Rublev for cursing in his native tongue, “which to me means he's trying to let off some steam but he's being respectful enough that he doesn't want to humiliate this guy and say it in English.”

Rublev now travels from the Middle East to the California desert, hoping to not only to recover from the dispute and disappointment, but also kick off the much-anticipated Sunshine Swing in Indian Wells and Miami.

Roddick and Wertheim make their predictions for the back-to-back ATP and WTA 1000-level events in the hour-long episode, as well as dive into Andy Murray’s announcement that he’s "likely not going to play past the summer."

Moving forward, Sunday night on T2 is the place for Roddick and his guests' opinions. Tune into the next episode on Sunday, March 10, at 8 p.m. ET, as the conversations transition further into the happenings at Indian Wells.