Overview
- During the mixed doubles semifinal, Andrey Rublev visibly stopped ESPN analyst Sam Querrey from conducting a brief end‑of‑set interview with partner Mirra Andreeva, a moment that was captured on live broadcast and quickly went viral.
- After the match Rublev approached Querrey to apologize, and Querrey was heard telling him, “Don’t worry about it.”
- Rublev and Andreeva were eliminated by Karolina Muchova and Jakub Mensik in a match tiebreak after holding match points, and Muchova and Mensik went on to win the mixed doubles title.
- The interviews were part of a compressed US Open mixed doubles format run by the USTA and ESPN that used short sets and planned one‑ or two‑question on‑court chats to boost fan access.
- Social media reaction split between those who defended Rublev’s effort to protect concentration and those who criticized his response, and the episode has renewed calls to review whether live, end‑of‑set interviews should be limited or reworked.