Andrey Rublev was part of an awkward encounter in his match against Adrian Mannarino at the ATP Rolex Shanghai Masters.
The World No. 7 ousted Quentin Halys in straight sets to set up the clash with the 31st seed at the Qizhong Forest Sports City Arena. The 26-year-old dominated the match, winning 6-3, 6-0, to progress to the Round of 16 where he will face twelfth seed Tommy Paul.
The Russian hit 35 winners throughout the match and registered just five unforced errors in an exceptional performance against the French player. However, he was distracted at one point for an unusual reason.
Rublev distracted by fan eating
Rublev’s concentration became disrupted by a fan’s loud snacking during one of his service games. He was visibly irritated and asked the chair umpire to tell the fan to stop.
“Can you please stop eating. Thank you very much,” the umpire said.
The camera then switched to show the snacking fan, who looked a little annoyed at the unusual request.
Although everyone involved in the encounter appeared to be serious, fans have since taken to social media to share their amusement at the bizarre situation.
NGAKAK
"can you please stop eating"
brb guling guling wkwkwwk pic.twitter.com/9yVF0KvuIF
— silva 🇵🇸 (@catfishfaced) October 9, 2023
“Hilarious moment between Andrey Rublev, the umpire, and a fan during his match in Shanghai,” wrote The Tennis Letter.
Evidently, the distraction did not ultimately affect Rublev’s dominant display against Mannarino. As the players shook hands after the match, he expressed his own disbelief at his performance, calling it “unreal.”
“Sorry man, I played unreal today,” he playfully told his opponent, before congratulating Mannarino on his recent victory at the Astana Open.
Hilarious moment between Andrey Rublev, the umpire, & a fan during his match in Shanghai.
“Can you please stop eating?” 😂