Australian Open – Andrey Rublev argues with referee in opening match: 'You don't have to decide'

The 26-year-old justified the delay by saying that as a server he did not have enough balls available.

“I've already hit the shot clock, even though I don't have all the balls on my side yet. (Ball Girl; editor's note) threw the ball and the shot clock was already at 20 seconds,” the number five seed complained loudly after being reprimanded from his point of view. View by referee Janssen during the fourth set when the score was 7:5, 6:4, 3:6, 2:2.

But the referee saw it differently: “You had enough balls,” he replied.

Clearly unaffected by this discussion, Rublev opened his serve game and quickly made it 15-0. But the matter was far from resolved for the Russians. As soon as he won the point, he went to the referee’s chair and asked for another confrontation with Janssen.

“According to the rules, I should have six balls. You don't have the right to decide whether I have enough balls! I don't tell you how to say 'out', so don't tell me how many balls I have,” Rublev pointed out, reprimanding the referee. Obviously, which then sparked a concert at Margaret Court.

International Tennis Federation (ITF) rules state that at Grand Slam level, exactly six balls must be available for each match. The server has the right to choose from all six balls on the field.

Only after this selection opportunity has been provided should the chair referee activate the shot clock.

In the second round, the man from Moscow will face either Taro Daniel (Japan) or Christopher Eubanks (USA).