French Open: No. 62 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan beats No. 5 Jack Draper in the fourth round
PARIS: Alexander Bublik became the first man from Kazakhstan to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament, eliminating No. 5 Jack Draper 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Monday at the French Open.
The 27-year-old Bublik dropped to the court, smudging himself with the red clay, when he finished off the biggest win of his career after about 2 1/2 hours.
'Sometimes in life, there is only one chance, and I had a feeling that that was mine and I couldn't let it slip,' he told the crowd afterward. 'Standing here is the best moment of my life. Period.'
Moments later, he joked: 'I'm standing here like I won the thing.'
Bublik managed to produce a total of 68 winners, 31 more than the left-handed Draper.
At No. 62, Bublik is the lowest-ranked man to earn a pair of victories at Roland-Garros against opponents ranked in the top 10 since No. 100 Andrei Medvedev in 1999. Bublik came back from a two-set deficit to defeat No. 9 Alex de Minaur in the second round last week.
'I have a certain skill set to play tennis,' Bublik said, 'and it worked marvelously today — 100% one of the best days of my life and one of the best matches I have ever played in my life.'
Draper called himself 'incredibly disappointed with the result.'
After reaching his first major semifinal at last year's U.S. Open, Draper has been having the best season of his career, winning his first Masters 1000 title at Indian Wells, California, in March and breaking into the top 10 of the rankings.
'Didn't play a bad match. I thought he played incredibly well,' Draper said about Bublik. 'He didn't allow me to play my tennis, I don't think.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
42 minutes ago
- Hans India
Coco Gauff outlasts Keys in three-set battle to reach semis
Paris: Second seed Coco Gauff weathered early racquet tension, scoreboard pressure, and a fierce challenge from fellow American Madison Keys to book her place in the semifinals of the 2025 French Open at the Stade Roland Garros. The No. 2 seed rallied from a set down to win 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1 in 2 hours and 11 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier, ending Keys' 11-match Grand Slam winning streak. With the roof closed due to the chillier conditions, Gauff made a strategic adjustment by lowering her racquet tension — a decision she soon regretted. 'I changed [the tension] at 4-1, and after that, I had chances to win the first set,' Gauff said in her on-court interview with Mats Wilander. 'It's difficult to find the tension and how you want to play…I thought with the roof closed it would play slower, which it did in some moments, but I felt it was quick too. Also, I was playing Madison, so I don't know if that was the reason why!' After a flurry of early unforced errors saw her go down a double break, Gauff adjusted both mentally and technically. She clawed her way back to lead 5-4 and even held a set point, but Keys saved it with a forehand winner. The seventh seed then capitalised on three double faults from Gauff in the tiebreak to sneak ahead. But Gauff, the 2022 finalist in Paris, showed resilience. She took a 4-1 lead in the second set, only for Keys to come storming back and level things at 4-all. At that point, Gauff produced her shot of the day — a sublime angled backhand passing shot off a Keys smash — to break serve again and close out the set. From there, the match was firmly in Gauff's grasp. With her groundstrokes under control and her tactics sharpened, she raced through the third set, winning 17 of the final 22 points. Her frequent use of the drop shot and improved movement left Keys searching for answers. Statistically, it wasn't the cleanest affair — Gauff finished with 15 winners and 41 unforced errors, while Keys posted 25 winners and a costly 60 unforced errors. But it was the 21-year-old who found composure in the moments that mattered. In the deciding set, Gauff committed just two unforced errors, compared to 16 from Keys. With the victory, Gauff levels her head-to-head with Keys at 3-3 and becomes the youngest player since Martina Hingis in 2000 to notch 25 career wins at Roland Garros. This marks her fifth career Grand Slam semifinal, three of which have come in Paris. Next up, Gauff will face either No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva or French wildcard Lois Boisson as she bids to reach a second final on the red clay of Paris.
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Hindustan Times
Golf-Leishman calls out claims that LIV players can't win majors
SYDNEY, - Australian Marc Leishman has rubbished the idea that players who have defected to the LIV Golf series are ill-prepared to win major championships. The former world number 12, who joined LIV in 2022 after winning six U.S. PGA titles, qualified for next week's U.S. Open at Oakmont on Monday to end his three-year absence from the majors. Leishman grinned when asked about comments made by commentator Brandel Chamblee, who said Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau fell out of contention at last month's PGA Championship because of LIV's format and lack of competition. "I would disagree with that," the 41-year-old told reporters by video call from the U.S. on Thursday. "I think the way our schedule is set up actually lends itself to being able to prepare very well for the majors. "We're playing against great fields every single week on tough golf courses. Yes, it's 54 holes, but it puts a bit of pressure on that first round to get off to a good start because they are a little bit more of a sprint. "We're still playing a lot of golf away from tournaments, enjoying golf more and I think when you are enjoying your golf and it's not so much of a grind, that lends itself to better play. "I would probably disagree with Brandel Chamblee ... a lot." Leishman, whose best finish at a major was a tie for second at the 2015 British Open, felt he could be a title contender in Pennsylvania next week. "Obviously golf's a funny game and you need a lot of stuff to go right on the right weeks, particularly the major weeks," he added. "And sometimes even if you do have your good stuff and you make the parts and you get a couple of lucky breaks, someone can still go crazy and beat you so you need a lot of stuff to go right. "But definitely I feel like that my game is probably as good as it's ever been. My mindset is as good as it's ever been and hopefully I can get the breaks and come out on top."
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
WATCH: Incredible 41-shot rally in quarterfinal between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev at French Open
During the quarter final of the French Open, Serbian Tennis player Novak Djokovic won an astonishing 41-shot rally against Germany's Alexander Zverev. The former had a lead of two sets to one in the high-octane contest, and during the fourth set, Djokovic faced a break point at 3-2, and that is when the incredible rally followed, and Djokovic managed to get his point, forcing the deuce and saving his break. Djokovic went on to win the contest 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 and has progressed to the semifinal and will face Italian Jannik Sinner. Djokovic might be 38 now. He might have slogged through a pair of three-match losing skids this season and slid to No. 6 in the rankings. What hasn't changed is Djokovic's determination or his ability to be his best on big stages — and now he's two wins from a record 25th Grand Slam title. 'I still push myself on a daily basis at this age because of these kind of matches and these kind of experiences,' Djokovic said. 'It's a proven kind of testament to myself that I can — and to others that I can — still play on the highest level.' Earlier Wednesday, Sinner continued his overpowering run through the bracket by dismissing Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0. Sinner not only hasn't dropped a set so far, but he has ceded a total of only 36 games through five matches. 41 SHOTS RALLY TO SAVE A BREAK POINT 🤯#RolandGarros — Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025 So Friday will bring a tantalizing showdown between someone many consider the top player in tennis history, Djokovic, and someone who is at the top of the men's game at the moment, Sinner. They are tied 4-4 head-to-head; Sinner won the last three matchups. 'He has shown now, in the last period, that he is back,' Sinner said. No one has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than Djokovic. No one has won more major championships or reached more major semifinals than his total that now stands at 51 after becoming the second-oldest man to get that far in Paris. He also just claimed his 100th career tournament title, a week before the French Open. 'I just hope that I will be able to physically keep up with Sinner in few days' time,' Djokovic said. 'It's a big challenge for me.' (With agency inputs)
