Wimbledon star furiously smacks himself with racket seven times in bloody meltdown before first-round loss
Andrey Rublev was furious with himself during the match
BBC
Andrey Rublev suffered an almighty meltdown during his Wimbledon first-round defeat on Tuesday that resulted in him drawing blood.
The hot-headed Russian is known for his self-critical outbursts on court when things aren't going his way.
He was up against it in the first round of Wimbledon with his match against Francisco Comesana tied 1-1 after two sets.
The Argentine, making his debut in the main draw of a Grand Slam, moved a break up in the third set with Rublev struggling to find his best form.
Andrey Rublev was furious with himself during the match
BBC
And a missed backhand that bounced off the outer rim of his racket to give Comesana a double break sent Rublev over the edge.
He reacted furiously, immediately bashing his racket relentlessly against his left knee.
The top seed hit himself six times before looking back at his box and hitting his knee one final time before hobbling back to his chair.
Rublev's knee was visibly bleeding after the outburst and he was unable to recompose himself.
He went on to lose the set and go down 2-1 with Comesana wrapping things up in the fourth-set tiebreak for a historic win.
Rublev was respectful after the match to his opponent, who was playing in just his second grass court match.
The 26-year-old suffered a similar outburst at the French Open when he was knocked out of the tournament.
He admitted after Roland Garros that he was 'disappointed' with his behaviour in Paris.
Francisco Comesana pulled off an upset against the world No 6
GETTY
Speaking after his Wimbledon exit, Rublev accepted that he needs to find a solution to his outbursts.
He said: "Is the main problem that I need to improve.
"Of course, I didn't behave today as in Paris, but still I could do much better. This is not the way.
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Andrey Rublev cut a frustrated figure throughout the match
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"Of course, it's the main priority, to be able during all the match to be positive."
However, Rublev went on to state the only reason he chose to hit his knee was because it wouldn't be punished.
"I would not do it if I was able to hit the racket on the floor," he said.
"Because we're not allowed to hit them with the grass. I don't know why in that moment, I couldn't take it anymore. I needed to let emotions out."
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