DUBAI - Andrey Rublev was defaulted from the Dubai Tennis Championships semi-finals for unsportsmanlike conduct on March 1, after yelling at a line judge in the final set of a tense encounter against Alexander Bublik.

In a chaotic match where both semi-finalists fumed at the officials at various points, Rublev was defaulted by the chair umpire after a Russian-speaking official appeared to accuse him of using an obscenity, while he screamed at the line judge. Rublev denied the allegation and said he had spoken in English during the confrontation.