Alexander Bublik lets the bats dance - and not in a good way
The ninth defeat in a row left its mark on Alexander Bublik - after his exit as defending champion of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Montpellier, three racquets had to believe it.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Feb 09, 2023, 11:20 am
Alexander Bublik's last match win? It dates from the second round in Basel last fall, when the Kazakh won against Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Since then, the 25-year-old has had one defeat after another, the 4: 6, 7: 6 (12), 6: 7 (3) against Gregoire Barrere in round one of the ATP Tour 250 tournament in Lyon the ninth in a row. And after Bublik started as the defending champion in France, the frustration that he then worked off is not entirely incomprehensible.
To save our honour, however, it should be said that Alexander Bublik has had a very strenuous weekend. Because he had to go to Chile with the Kazakh team for the Davis Cup. And there he lost to Cristian Garin and Nicolas Jarry on a slow cinder surface. Not the best preparation for defending the title in Montpellier, where Bublik won the final against Alexander Zverev last year.
Baghdatis and Kyrgios have done it
In the tradition of the big racket destroyers, Bublik has almost caught up with the record holder. Who doesn't remember Marcos Baghdatis, who sent four racquets into the eternal hunting grounds at the Australian Open.
While the man from Cyprus completed his work on the court back then, Nick Kyrgios took the trouble to finish off two thugs in the locker room in Cincinnati 2019. Which made chair umpire Fergus Murphy ponder a bit.
After all, Benoit Paire destroyed three racquets within three minutes in Washington 2018. Alexander Bublik in Montpellier has now risen to such feats.