Fair play: Andrey Rublev tells opponent to challenge a serve during their Hong Kong clash

Andrey Rublev powered into the semifinals at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 victory over rising French teenager Arthur Fils—but the real highlight on Friday was a great moment of sportsmanship between the pair in the midst of their battle.

Deep in the first set of quarterfinal, Fils saw his first serve get called out by the linespeople. When the 19-year-old hesitated on whether or not he should challenge it, the umpire let him know “It’s close.”

That’s when Rublev, in typical Rublev fashion, took it upon himself to inspect the line on Fils’ behalf. “Is it this one?” Rublev asked, and after getting confirmation he confidently told Fils, “Challenge it.”

Fils wasted no time in doing just that, and was rewarded with a Foxtenn replay showing his serve had indeed landed plumb on the line. As Fils received another first serve, the crowd in Hong Kong applauded Rublev’s gesture of fair play.

The top seed was in fine form during his three-set victory, striking 24 winners to just four unforced errors against Fils’ 26 and 17, respectively. The victory sent him through to his first semifinal of the year at the ATP 250 event, where China’s Juncheng 'Jerry' Shang awaits.

"He's very talented, young, powerful, fast,” said Rublev. “He's playing the week of his life, beating really top players. He's showing great comebacks from match point down, so he has nothing to lose for sure. He will be playing free like all this week. We'll see."

The 18-year-old Beijing native took down No. 3 seed Frances Tiafoe 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first ATP semifinal.

“I was good at 17,” Rublev reflected in press afterward. “At 18 I was thinking I was king of the world. So at 18 I saw the real life, and it was a turning point for me. It was a reload of everything, on and off the court.

“18 was a great year for me to change me in the right way. When I was 19 I started to play really well again. Shang at 18, he’s super talented so let’s see what’s going to happen.”