Bublik says Vegas trip helped him compete with the robots
PARIS, May 31 (Reuters) - Kazakhstan's trickster Alexander Bublik always brings a novel approach to his matches and off court too he defies convention, describing how a three-day trip to Las Vegas to let off steam helped turn around his year.
The 27-year-old reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for only the second time in his career on Saturday as he beat Portugal's Henrique Rocha 7-5 6-1 6-2, setting up a clash with Briton's fifth seed Jack Draper.
Bublik reached a high of 17 in the rankings last year but dropped to 82 in March after a first-round exit at Indian Wells left him questioning whether he had what it took to compete with what he calls the tennis 'robots'.
The answer? A trip to The Strip.
"To be honest, my fall was not linked with lack of attitude and lack of practising. It was the exact opposite. I just burned out because I was waiting for the results to come," he told reporters.
"I was like, if I practise more, if I hit better forehands, it will come. It didn't, and then I got to the point, like, Okay, why am I sacrificing so much? For what?
"My coach suggests a trip to Vegas in between Indian Wells and Phoenix. He's like, 'man, if you play like this, we're going to be out of tennis, out of the conversation by Wimbledon."
Asked if the trip to the notorious Nevada playground was a training trip to Vegas or a Vegas trip to Vegas, Bublik said: "No, Vegas, Vegas, like a hangover thing Vegas, yeah.
"It was a good three days. I arrived three hours before the match in Phoenix. I had just let it all out. I said, I'm useless now, I can't win a match, so let it be, let's see how it goes."
What happened was that Bublik reached the final in the second-tier Challenger event and something clicked.
During the claycourt season he made the fourth round in Madrid and won a Challenger in Turin.
Bublik, who describes himself as a normal guy, said he has accepted that he cannot compete with the world's very best on their terms, so has to bring something different to the table, be it underarm serves, through-the-leg returns or mind-boggling drop shots -- all played with a smile on his face.
"I'm not a fighting person. In order for me to win against the best of the best, and I prove that I'm capable of doing that, I have to find ways to outplay them because they will outwork me, outrun me," he said.
"I also find the ways to win matches, to find a way how can I beat those guys with what I have, and I have a lot, in terms of an arsenal of shots, shot selections.
"Sometimes I have to go for crazy shots, but this is the only option I have. Otherwise, what happened with me when I was 17 is that I tried to play (their game)."
In an age of sports science, endless gym work and nutrition plans, Bublik bucks the trend and do not expect him to enter a war of attrition with Draper.
"Jack for me is insane. I saw him first day here. I'm like, are you getting ready for UFC?" Bublik said. "Last year the guy is 40 in the world, this year he is top four, that's a crazy achievement. How can I beat him? I don't know. I will just go there, enjoy the time, show what I'm capable of showing."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
26 minutes ago
- The Independent
Cameron Norrie vs Novak Djokovic start time: When is French Open match?
Britain's Cameron Norrie faces a huge test against perhaps the greatest player of all time, Novak Djokovic, in the quarter-finals of the French Open today. Djokovic appears back to something near his best after a mostly torrid year, winning in Geneva last month before stringing together three straight-sets victories at Roland Garros. This is Djokovic's 15th straight appearance in the last eight in Paris, and he will hope to go one further as he takes on Norrie, whom the Serbian beat in three sets a couple of weeks ago in Switzerland. But the 29-year-old Norrie is in good form himself, having beaten compatriot Jacob Fearnley as well as 11th seed Daniil Medvedev to get this far. When is Norrie v Djokovic? Cameron Norrie v Novak Djokovic is scheduled third on Court Philippe-Chatrier, with women's matches involving Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula to come first. We can expect the match to begin at any time around 1-3pm BST. Yes, the match will be on TV, with viewers in the United Kingdom able to watch the French Open on TNT Sports. A live stream will be available to subscribers via the discovery+ app or website.
Daily Mirror
34 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Alcaraz corrects French Open umpire and gives up point due to rarely used rule
Carlos Alcaraz showed his class in Paris as he corrected an umpire during his match with Ben Shelton at the French Open - handing a point to his opponent after he breached the rules Carlos Alcaraz displayed impressive sportsmanship as he corrected an umpire at the French Open - telling him to give his point to his opponent after breaching one of the rules of tennis. The Spaniard, who is also the defending champion at Roland Garros, was up against American Ben Shelton. Alcaraz took the first set on a tiebreak and was serving in the opening game of the second set. He produced an impressive net shot, but his American opponent responded with a sensational passing effort which looked destined to be a winner. Alcaraz threw himself at the ball, managing to return it as the crowd jumped up to applaud. But the Grand Slam winner quickly corrected the umpire and informed him that he'd thrown his racquet at the ball to win the point. Rules state that a player must be in control of his racquet when he makes connection with the ball. The umpire quickly informed the crowd that Alcaraz's honesty meant that his opponent was awarded the point with those inside the stadium acknowledging the classy gesture from the Spanish star. Alcaraz eventually made it through to the French Open quarter-finals after a four-set win over Shelton. The 22-year-old claimed a 7-6 (10-8) 6-3 4-6 6-4 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier after three hours and 19 minutes. After the win he said: "Honestly, today I fought against myself in the mind. I just tried to calm myself - in some moments I was mad. I was angry with myself, talking not good things. I'm happy that I didn't let that thought play against me. I tried to calm myself and tried to keep going." Alcaraz produced his best match of the tournament thus far, but has dropped a set in each of his last three matches. However he was happy with his level on Sunday. "Every time we face each other I said we brought the level to the top," claimed Alcaraz. "We entertained the people. He is a really powerful player. He can make any shots. I think we played really great tennis. Drops, coming to the net, big shots, and we stayed there the whole match. For me, it is great having Ben around, a great energy for tennis and for the people. I love watching him play." Alcaraz will face another American, Tommy Paul, in the last eight after the 12th seed beat Australia's Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-3 6-3. The Spaniard remains on course for a semi-final clash with Lorenzo Musetti having dodged the likes of Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev until the final.
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Telegraph
PSG the antidote to cautious over-coaching that made Premier League duller
The image of the night – a recurring image – during Paris St-Germain's demolition of Inter Milan in the Champions League final was provided by one of the players who did not score in the 5-0 victory. It was Ousmane Dembélé who adopted a starting position every time Inter took a goal-kick on the edge of their penalty area that was akin to a sprinter ready to spring from the blocks. When the ball was played, Dembélé propelled himself forward to set the press and close down the opposition for the most exciting, creative team in the world at present. 🚨 Special camera from the Champions League final Watch how Ousmane Dembele was pressing Watch the horror in Sommer's eyes. Enrique said : Is there a player in the world who presses better than Ousmane Dembele? What a beast that never stops running 🤯 — KinG £ (@xKGx__) June 1, 2025 Dembélé's incredible work-rate, allied to his skill and teamwork, is all the more impressive because earlier this season he was dropped from the PSG squad – for the Champions League group game away to Arsenal, which was lost – because of a fall-out with head coach Luis Enrique who did not like his attitude. Dembélé was just not doing what the Spaniard wanted. Now the 28-year-old France international is probably the favourite to win the Ballon d'Or. What a transformation and what a transformation of PSG's football by the demanding Enrique. PSG play football for the new era. They are the antidote to the safety-first, over-coached approach that has unfortunately crept into the Premier League and that involves too many managers wanting to copy Pep Guardiola. Without being able to reach those standards. Even Guardiola has fallen short of them. Cole Palmer was revealing as he turned match-winner in Chelsea's Europa Conference League triumph. The England international admitted he had grown bored with having to play the ball sideways and backwards – presumably under instruction from Enzo Maresca – and decided to grab the game by the scruff of the neck with two brilliant assists. Where Jose Mourinho and Rafael Benítez, with their defensive-first approach, helped define the football of the early 2000s and then Guardiola did so for the next decade with a progressive, possession-based approach, so Enrique's PSG has shown Europe the way forward now. With honourable exceptions such as Liverpool, Newcastle United and smaller clubs such as Bournemouth, too many Premier League clubs are guilty of possession for possession's sake and appear to believe keeping the ball is more important than risking losing it by trying to score. How many times have we seen the ball played from right to left and back again, obviously and understandably probing for space, only a winger to be picked out. And what do they do? Stop, turn, check back and play a pass infield. Just take on your marker! Run into the space ahead of you! Make the opposition commit! Take a risk! The coaching approach of many managers – obsessed with statistics and expected goals – has not helped. Take Arsenal's Mikel Arteta, who argued all the data suggested his team deserved to beat PSG in the semi-finals. But anyone who watched the game would have concluded otherwise. To an extent it has become paralysis by analysis and although no one analyses the game more than Enrique – who often stands high up on a scaffold so he gets an overview of training – he also demands far more bravery and positivity in how his players do attack. Right-back Achraf Hakimi even pops up on the left wing. Quarter-final goal ✅ Semi-final goal ✅ Final goal ✅ Achraf Hakimi gives PSG an early lead in the Champions League final, but refuses to celebrate against his former side Inter ⚽ 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 31, 2025 Punditry does not help. Some of it is excellent. Gary Neville is along the right lines when he talks about teams being 'micro-managed'. But then the same players are micro-analysed on television and any mistake is seized upon, with replay after replay and touchscreens and some pretty damning comments. It adds to the growing sense of wanting to be risk-averse. "That's not a Premier League game of football." Gary Neville explains why he's disappointed after the Manchester derby. — Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 6, 2025 Which brings us back to what PSG do and how they can provide a template. First of all, it requires a huge amount of energy and buy-in with the 10 outfield players asked to counter-press and man-mark all over the pitch – a bit like Andoni Iraola's Bournemouth. It probably also needs a team of athletic, technically superb youngsters, which PSG have assembled. Dembélé sets that press, effectively, by being a 'false' nine who harries the opposition but also has licence to interchange with the two wingers, who make up the front three in the fluid, 4-3-3 formation. Crucially, though, those wingers stay wide. The demand is that they go high and run at, or beyond, their full-backs. That is where the real threat lies, not coming back inside where the pitch is more congested. It helps to have wingers of the quality and game intelligence of Désiré Doué, the man of the match in the final, and Bradley Barcola, who started the season ahead of Doué but replaced him off the bench against Inter. And then there is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, whose arrival from Napoli in the January window lit the red-and-blue touch paper. The Georgian is the most swashbuckling and charismatic winger in world football and, like Doué and Barcola, works prodigiously hard. Another of the images from Munich was Kvaratskhelia sprinting back to tackle an Inter player deep in his own half even though the game was won. He celebrated as if he had scored. And then went down the other end and scored. It is also risky. PSG lost the ball several times in dangerous positions and Inter were unable to capitalise, partly through some great defending, but also because of their shortcomings. Yes, PSG are effectively a state-owned and were assembled at enormous cost. They still have a vast wage bill, despite moving on from the galacticos of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. That is a valid argument and should not be overlooked but neither should the football they play and just how entertaining they are at a time when there is genuine concern over the direction in which the sport is heading at the highest level. Both those thoughts can co-exist and other clubs have also spent heavily without coming close to achieving such a return. On the night, PSG's brilliance was highlighted even more by Inter's far more rigid, essentially conservative, 3-5-2 approach, with set-pieces providing their best hope of scoring. This is not the sort of football we want, surely? Enrique has shown the way, as Guardiola did, and it is up to other coaches – including Guardiola – to respond. Football will be the better for it.
