Quote of the Day: Andrey Rublev brutally honest after Arnaldi stunner: “I gave Matteo wings to fly”

Andrey Rublev wasn’t pulling any punches in the Roland Garros press room on Friday, as the No. 6 seed delivered a brutally honest self-assessment of the “really bad behavior” he felt led him to be knocked out the tournament.

Rublev saw his Roland Garros campaign come to a disappointing end in the third round, as the mercurial Russian’s emotions boiled over during his 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4 defeat. Frustrated as Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi beat him from the baseline while the crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen willed on his opponent, a disputed call with the chair umpire didn’t help as Rublev fell into a self-destructive spiral.

Read More: Matteo Arnaldi continues to make positive strides. Can he take a big step against Rublev?

As always, the world No. 6 was his own harshest critic off the court once he had time to cool down.

“Completely disappointed with myself the way I behaved, the way I performed… I don't remember behaving worse (at the) Slams ever,” he said during a somber post-match press conference. “I think it was first time I ever behaved that bad.”

MATCH POINT: Matteo Arnaldi upsets Andrey Rublev in Roland Garros third round

Opening up a bit more on his mindset, Rublev acknowledged that his very public on-court meltdown probably gave Arnaldi the extra boost in confidence that he needed—further fueling Rublev’s frustrations:

Q. Do you think that your concentration went and then you couldn't make your tennis come back?

ANDREY RUBLEV: I think it's not about concentration. I think it's because the way I behave I put myself completely down and I gave Matteo wings to fly, and he was playing (in the) third set unbelievable. It was too late to do something.

Q. Do you find it difficult to be kind to yourself on the court?

ANDREY RUBLEV: Yes, I feel it's tough to be, in some moments tough to be kind to myself.

Of course, if I was able, I'm sure that those moments will never happen.

The early defeat proves doubly disappointing for Rublev, as his third-round exit comes at the heels of one of his best career achievements—weeks after fighting through illness and injury to win his second Masters 1000 title in Madrid.

That was a moment that many Rublev fans were hoping would be the turning point for the incredibly talented 26-year-old, who was defaulted from a match in Dubai back in February for his problematic on-court behavior. Frustrated with the officiating, Rublev yelled in the face a line judge—triggering a sequence of events that saw the former champion thrown out of the tournament.

What followed would be a sudden slump, winning his next match in Indian Wells then losing the next four in a row. Having started the season with a title in Hong Kong, Rublev had arrived winless to the European clay swing—but a monumental performance in Madrid saw him turn things around to walk away with the title.

Read More: Is Andrey Rublev a title contender at Roland Garros?

With a victory on the slow courts of Monte Carlo and one on Madrid’s faster clay, a calm Rublev quietly emerged as a dark horse for the Roland Garros title. But now, he leaves Paris with question marks and once again searching for solutions—here’s hoping one of the tour’s most loved players figures it out.

“I was struggling, and then I had really good result in Madrid. Now I'm playing well again,” Rublev reflected. “I feel that I have a good game, I'm improving... The problem is the head, that today basically I kill myself, and that's it.”

For Arnaldi, the 23-year-old recorded his biggest win of the year to move into the fourth round at a Grand Slam for just the second time. He faces No. 9 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas next.