Alexander Bublik still entertains, now with grit

Hindustan Times

2 days ago

Mumbai: Alexander Bublik sank to the floor like he had never done before. When he rose, his face was covered in the Parisian clay, but he couldn't care less. The smile refused to leave his face.
The man who claimed he never took his sport very seriously, Bublik shed a few tears on Court Suzanne Lenglen. For the first time in his career, the 27-year-old had made it to the quarter-final of a Grand Slam.
The Kazakh player soaked in the standing ovation from the crowd that witnessed him beat world No.5 Jack Draper 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in their fourth round match at the French Open on Monday. But then he refused to get emotional on court.
'I'm standing here like I won the thing. I can't cry here, come on,' he said in the post-match interview on court. 'I still have a match to go, I'm a professional tennis player, I've got to get ready.'
On any other day, him choosing to leave court to prepare for the next match would have seemed like a regular quip from one of the sport's most entertaining characters. But now there is a seriousness in his words, even if it was delivered with a smile.
A match with Bublik means an exhibition of explosive strokes with a heavy mix of trickery - often needless. He will play tweeners, throw in underarm serves, go for 200+ kph second serves, use the handle of his racquet for easy volleys.
The man who recently joked around by asking an umpire if he remembered when 'tennis was easy' makes an increasingly gruelling sport look effortless.
With talent in abundance, Bublik never chased after bigger titles. But a string of losses gave him a jolt like he had never faced before - once ranked as high as 17 in the world, Bublik dropped out of the top 50.
That prompted a mental shift. For a player of his calibre, he had reached the fourth round of a major only once, at Wimbledon in 2023. He had reached the third round of the US Open once, in 2019, but never made it that far at the French and Australian Opens.
This time in Roland Garros though, he is on a mission.
'I was on a losing streak and I (didn't have any other) option but to take it a bit seriously,' Bublik said in a press conference after he won the third round in Paris last week. 'I went to a lower tournament, I played a few Challengers. I had no time to joke around there, I went there to win. I have to take matches more seriously, and I did.
'I can't see myself out of the top 100 and not be able to play the tournaments I like to play. I still have the courage to play tennis and it was just a shift in mentality.'
One could only wonder what it would have been like had the shift come earlier. But even though it has, he still knows how to put on a show.
Against a big-hitter like Draper, Bublik played his usual enthralling game. But with the added element of grit. He was ready to dig it out on the big points. And it wasn't the first time he had done it this tournament.
Now ranked 62 in the world, Bublik was down two sets against ninth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia. But he refused to go away, pulling off a miraculous five-set win.
A motto that is famously displayed on Court Philippe Chatrier reads: 'Victory belongs to the most tenacious.'
In all likeliness Bublik could play in that stadium in his quarter-final. He is expected to bring his usual flamboyant approach to court. This time, armed with the stubbornness to dig out a win.