Even though the mixed doubles event at the US Open has been heavily criticized for not being a serious Grand Slam competition due to its format, Andrey Rublev took it very seriously. The Russian, competing alongside Mirra Andreeva, faced the Czech team of Jakub Mensik and Karolina Muchova in the semifinals. During one of the changeovers, when Sam Querrey approached Andreeva as part of his broadcasting duties, Rublev refused him.
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The incident happened after the second set, which the Russian pair won, having lost the first set and been down a break in the second. As has been the norm throughout the event, anchors come up to the players during changeovers to ask questions while the match is live, adding to the viewing experience. Querrey came to the Russians’ bench and started to ask Andreeva a question before Rublev waved him off.
The situation was slightly awkward as Andreeva did not oppose to answering Querrey. The Former Pro promptly apologized and stepped away from their bench. However, after the match, Rublev walked up to Querrey on the court and apologized. Querrey, being a former player himself, understood the need to focus on crucial points in the match and was heard saying, “Don’t worry about it.”
However, if refusing to speak to Querrey was an effort to hold their focus, that did not work for Rublev and Andreeva, as the Russians lost in the tiebreak to their Czech opponents. This was after the team of Andreeva and Rublev had two match points in the tiebreak, one of them on their own serve at 9-7. Despite their best efforts, it was the team of Muchova and Mensik who won the next four points to win the match, and then went on to win the title in the final.
Despite losing the semifinal, Rublev and Andreeva had a great time in the doubles and will now have their singles campaigns to look forward to next week.
Rublev and Andreeva Hope to Carry the Same Momentum into US Open Singles Draws
On the court, Andrey Rublev and Mirra Andreeva had the biggest upset of the competition, even after saving a match point to defeat the two-time defending-champion pair of Andrea Vavassori and Sara Errani. They had another great win against the team of Diana Shnaider and Casper Ruud in the next round, before coming up short against Mensik and Muchova.
Off the court, the duo had some eye-catching moments as well, with Andreeva admitting Rublev to be her longtime crush, which made for a great moment on court. For Rublev, mixed doubles was a welcome change, as the Russian has had some bad memories at Arthur Ashe Stadium in recent years. Back in 2024, the Russian had an emotional breakdown in his match against Grigor Dimitrov, which saw him smash his rackets on his legs, which had a risk of causing injury to himself.
Even last year at Flushing Meadows, Rublev had his emotional outbursts on court, and another episode of smashing his racket during his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The two had a great partnership and will have a much-needed boost before their respective singles campaigns. Rublev is the 23rd seed in the men’s draw and has reached the quarterfinals in New York before. However, the Russian has an 11-8 win-loss record on hard courts this year, with his recent outings in Montreal and Cincinnati ending in early-round exits.
On the other hand, Andreeva is the fifth seed and, having won Roland Garros this year, will have the added pressure of having a deep run at Flushing Meadows. However, since her Paris run, the Russian has a 4-4 win-loss record on the Tour, with early exits at Wimbledon, Toronto, and Cincinnati. The Russian will look to hit form in New York, as she has yet to go past the fourth round at either of the two hard-court Majors of the year.