PARIS (Reuters) – Seventh seed Andrey Rublev blamed his failure to control his emotions for his French Open exit after the Russian lost 5-7 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6(2) to Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Rublev made a solid start on Court Philippe-Chatrier, taking the first set before Cilic bounced back in the second. The third set saw Rublev struggling against Cilic’s serve but he played aggressively in the fourth to force a decider.
The 24-year-old could not keep up with 2014 U.S. Open champion Cilic’s powerful returns in the super tiebreak as he suffered defeat after four hours and 10 minutes.
“After the first set I was relaxed and straightaway when I started to think too much and when things weren’t going my way, I started to show frustration,” Rublev told reporters.
Rublev has now lost all five Grand Slam quarter-finals he has reached so far in his career.
Asked about why he has failed to reach the semi-finals at majors, Rublev answered: “Everything mental. I couldn’t manage, all the time I couldn’t manage the emotions.
“And now it was the closest ever time that I was able to go through to be in semi-finals. Then again, the same thing, I didn’t manage the emotions.
“I don’t know if I did it better as compared to other matches. At least I did a better score and I was closer than other matches, but still, is the same thing.”
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)
