Alexander Bublik’s week at the Paris Masters has been anything but dull – a mix of on-court brilliance and off-court fire. Fresh off a commanding win over Taylor Fritz, the Kazakhstan star stormed into the quarter-finals with his trademark flair and sharp tongue intact.
But it was not just his tennis that made headlines – a tense exchange with a reporter and a cheeky jab at a rival ensured Bublik stayed at the centre of attention in Paris.
After dispatching Fritz in straight sets on Thursday, Bublik sat down for a Tennis Channel interview that quickly took an awkward turn. When the interviewer drew parallels between his flashy shot-making and that of Carlos Alcaraz, Bublik immediately shut it down.
“First of all, you cannot compare me to Carlos in any matter,” he said firmly. “Let’s put it like this – I don’t disrespect Carlos, okay? I like Carlos since he was 16 years old, playing on a side court in Australia. Don’t disrespect him that way.”
He went on to acknowledge the growth in his own game this season. “Obviously, I became better in choosing my shots,” Bublik said. “Otherwise, I would not be winning matches that often and keeping consistency throughout. You know, it’s the end of the season – I hope to continue this way.”
Earlier in the week, Bublik’s fiery side was on full display after his second-round victory over Corentin Moutet. The Frenchman had boldly claimed he wanted to “send Bublik home,” only for the Kazakh to deliver a cutting response – both on and off the court. After sealing the win, Bublik scribbled on the camera lens: “On the way home.”
He later explained his reaction: “Obviously he spoke too much before the match, you know, he spoke too much, and I just had to punish him, so I had no other option. He said that he will do everything to send me home, so it’s nice that he lives in Paris and it’s not too far with a taxi, you know?”
Reflecting on his latest win against Fritz, Bublik suggested that the American might have lacked his usual edge, already assured of a spot in the ATP Finals in Turin.
“We are in different positions now – he’s going to Turin, I’m still fighting maybe to be an alternate, so maybe the mindset changed a bit,” Bublik said. “I’m not saying 100 per cent, but he was not as clutch as he usually is, so I had a bit of freedom, which he took from me in the past three meetings when he actually killed me all the time.”