Alexander Bublik

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In this Eastern Slavic naming convention, the patronymic is Stanislavovich and the family name is Bublik.
Alexander Bublik
Александр Бублик
Bublik WM19 (34) (48522041177).jpg
Bublik at the 2019 Wimbledon Championships
Full nameAlexander Stanislavovich Bublik
Country (sports) Russia (2013–2016)
 Kazakhstan (2016–)
ResidenceSestroretsk, Russia
Born (1997-06-17) 17 June 1997 (age 24)
Gatchina, Russia
Height1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Turned pro2016
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
CoachStanislav Bublik, Artem Suprunov
Prize money$2,398,478
Singles
Career record63–63 (50.0%)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 37 (24 May 2021)
Current rankingNo. 38 (18 Aug 2021)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (2017, 2021)
French Open2R (2019, 2020)
Wimbledon3R (2021)
US Open3R (2019)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2021)
Doubles
Career record18–28 (39.1%) (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 49 (14 June 2021)
Current rankingNo. 49 (14 June 2021)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenSF (2020)
French OpenF (2021)
Wimbledon2R (2019)
US Open1R (2019)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic Games1R (2021)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open1R (2021)
Wimbledon1R (2021)
Last updated on: 14 June 2021.

Alexander Stanislavovich Bublik (Russian: Александр Станиславович Бублик; born 17 June 1997) is a Kazakhstani professional tennis player. He has a career-high singles ranking of world No. 37, achieved on 24 May 2021 and a doubles ranking of world No. 49, achieved on 14 June 2021. In 2021, he reached the French Open men's doubles final with fellow Kazakhstani Andrey Golubev. Before 2016, he played for his country of birth, Russia.[1] Bublik is known for his powerful serve, his use of underarm serves, and his trick shots.

Career[]

Bublik was born in Gatchina and started playing tennis at the age of four. He was coached by his father Stanislav Bublik. On the junior tour, Bublik had a career-high ranking of No. 19. Bublik has won four ITF singles titles and three ITF doubles titles.

In 2016, Bublik joined several other players by switching to playing for Kazakhstan, explaining:

As hurtful as it may sound, nobody cared about me in Russia. And now people care about me. And they do everything for my career to be successful. That's the most important thing! Tennis Federation of Kazakhstan — they really look after me. They help, work, create the conditions for me to play well. It was impossible in Russia. There is also a wonderful tennis center in Astana. I don’t know how to describe it in words. But it's awesome. Since we have already made a decision to play for Kazakhstan, I am never going back to the Russian team. I am not going back.[2]

He has publicly stated he hates tennis and only plays for the money: "If there was no money, I would stop playing tennis instantly. I haven’t earned enough money, in any other case I would have already retired".[3]

2016: Futures titles and first ATP wins[]

Bublik began 2016 ranked World No. 964. He won his first Futures title in Doha in April 2016, followed by titles in Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Sweden.[4]

Bublik made his ATP main-draw debut at the 2016 St. Petersburg Open, where he received wildcards into both the singles and doubles main draw.

Bublik qualified for the Kremlin Cup, where he notched the biggest win of his career, upsetting the top seed and world No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets in the round of 16. He then lost a tight three-set match to the eventual champion Pablo Carreño Busta.[5]

In November 2016, Bublik announced that he would represent Kazakhstan.[6]

By the end of the year, Bublik's ranking had skyrocketed 759 places to No. 205.

2017: Two Challenger titles and top-100 breakthrough[]

After qualifying for the Australian Open, Bublik defeated 16th-seeded Lucas Pouille in his first Grand Slam match.[7]

In February, Bublik won his first Challenger title at the Morelos Open, defeating Nicolas Jarry in the final.[8]

At Wimbledon, Bublik received a spot in the main draw as a lucky loser. He was defeated by world No. 1 Andy Murray in his first Wimbledon appearance.[9]

Bublik won his second Challenger title in Aptos.[10] In September, after making the semifinals of a Challenger tournament in Istanbul,[11] Bublik broke into the top 100 for the first time, reaching a career-high ranking of No. 95.[12]

2018: Struggles with form[]

Bublik struggled for much of the 2018 season, seeing his ranking drop into the 200s. However, he prevailed in his last event of the year, winning eight matches to capture the Challenger title in Bratislava.[13]

2019: Two ATP Finals, Top 50 debut[]

Bublik was successful early on in 2019, winning his fourth Challenger title in Budapest,[14] followed shortly by another title at Pau.[15]

Bublik earned his first Masters 1000 win in Miami, winning two qualifying matches and defeating Tennys Sandgren in a third-set tiebreak.

His next tournament was in Monterrey, where he again defeated Sandgren in a third-set tiebreak en route to his sixth Challenger title.[16] This win propelled Bublik back into the top 100.

Bublik won his first Roland Garros main-draw match over Rudolf Molleker, before losing a close four-set contest to eventual finalist Dominic Thiem.[17]

At the tournament in Newport, Bublik reached his first ATP 250 final, where he was defeated by the top seed John Isner.[18]

Bublik had a successful US Open campaign, where he won two consecutive five-set matches. He came back from two sets to love down against Thomas Fabbiano to reach his first Grand Slam third round.[19]

Bublik reached his second ATP 250 final of the season in Chengdu, where he defeated top-30 players Taylor Fritz and Grigor Dimitrov, before losing the final in a third-set tiebreak to Pablo Carreño Busta.[20] The result helped him to reach a new career-high of No. 48 in November.[21]

2020: First Grand Slam doubles semifinal, First Top 10 singles win[]

At the 2020 Australian Open Bublik reached his first semifinal at a Grand Slam in doubles partnering fellow Kazakh Mikhail Kukushkin where they lost to Rajeev Ram/Joe Salisbury.

Bublik reached the semifinals of Marseille, where he lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. As a Lucky Loser, Bublik reached the quarterfinals of Hamburg, beating Albert Ramos-Viñolas and Félix Auger-Aliassime, before losing to Cristian Garín in 3 sets.

He had his first top 10 victory against Gaël Monfils at the 2020 French Open, but lost to Lorenzo Sonego in the second round.

2021: Two more ATP finals, two Masters quarterfinals, Top 40 singles debut, French Open doubles final, Top 50 in doubles[]

Bublik started his year in Antalya, where he reached his third ATP 250 final, notching his second top 10 victory against Matteo Berrettini in straight sets. He was forced to retire in the final after trailing 0-2 in the first set against Alex De Minaur.

In the Great Ocean Road Open, he lost in the third round to Stefano Travaglia. At the Australian Open, he lost in the second round to Dušan Lajović in 4 sets.

He reached his fourth final in Singapore after beating Altuğ Çelikbilek, Yoshihito Nishioka and Radu Albot. He lost to Alexei Popyrin in the final, 6-4 0-6, 2-6.

At the 2021 Miami Open, Bublik reached the quarterfinals where he lost to Jannik Sinner. This marked his best result at a Masters 1000 event to date.

At the 2021 Madrid Open, he defeated Denis Shapovalov and Aslan Karatsev to equal his previous Masters 1000 result, but lost to Casper Ruud. As a result, he achieved his career-high ranking of World No. 40 on 10 May 2021.

In only his sixth appearance at a Grand Slam in doubles, Bublik reached his second Grand Slam doubles semifinal in his career at the 2021 French Open partnering with fellow Kazakh Andrey Golubev defeating No. 5 seeded Ivan Dodig/Filip Polášek (second round), No. 11 seeded Wesley Koolhof/Jean-Julien Rojer (third round) and Hugo Nys/Tim Pütz (quarterfinals) en route, his best showing at this Grand Slam.[22] In the semifinal the Kazakh duo defeated the Spanish duo Pablo Andujar/Pedro Martinez[23] who were both making their Grand Slam semifinals doubles debut.[24] They played in the final against the French home favorites Nicolas Mahut/Pierre-Hugues Herbert,[25] but they lost 6−4, 6−7, 4−6. As a result, he entered the top 50 in doubles at World No. 49 on 14 June 2021.

International competition[]

Bublik has been selected to the Kazakhstan Davis Cup team and has a win/loss record of 4–1 in singles and 1–1 in doubles in Davis Cup competition.[26] He made his debut at the 2019 Davis Cup Qualifying Round against João Sousa of Portugal.

Bublik participated in the 2019 Davis Cup Finals. In his first match, he narrowly lost to Robin Haase of the Netherlands, but he teamed up with Mikhail Kukushkin to win the deciding doubles match. In his second singles match, he defeated Dan Evans of Great Britain, but lost his doubles match with Kukushkin.[27]

Playing style[]

Bublik's playing style is similar to the style of Gaël Monfils and Dustin Brown. He’s known for his very fast serve along with powerful forehands and backhands. Bublik, like Nick Kyrgios, is also known for his underarm serve and for playing trick shots during his matches.

Significant finals[]

Grand Slam tournament finals[]

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)[]

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 2021 French Open Clay Kazakhstan Andrey Golubev France Pierre-Hugues Herbert
France Nicolas Mahut 		6–4, 6–7(1–7), 4–6

ATP career finals[]

Singles: 4 (4 runners-up)[]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour 250 Series (0–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–3)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–1)
Carpet (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–3)
Indoor (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 2019 Hall of Fame Open, USA 250 Series Grass United States John Isner 6–7(2–7), 3–6
Loss 0–2 Sep 2019 Chengdu Open, China 250 Series Hard Spain Pablo Carreño Busta 7–6(7–5), 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Loss 0–3 Jan 2021 Antalya Open, Turkey 250 Series Hard Australia Alex de Minaur 0–2 ret.
Loss 0–4 Feb 2021 Singapore Open, Singapore 250 Series Hard (i) Australia Alexei Popyrin 6–4, 0–6, 2–6

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)[]

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
ATP Finals (0–0)
ATP Tour Masters 1000 (0–0)
ATP Tour 500 (0–0)
ATP Tour 250 (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Finals by setting
Outdoor (0–1)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 2021 French Open, France Grand Slam Clay Kazakhstan Andrey Golubev France Pierre-Hugues Herbert
France Nicolas Mahut 		6–4, 6–7(1–7), 4–6

Challenger and Futures finals[]

Singles: 11 (10 titles, 1 runner-up)[]

Legend (Singles)
ATP Challenger Tour (6–0)
ITF Futures Tour (4–1)
Titles by Surface
Hard (9–1)
Clay (1–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Apr 2016 Qatar F2, Doha Futures Hard France Benjamin Bonzi 7–6(7–4), 7–6(9–7)
Loss 1–1 Apr 2016 Qatar F3, Doha Futures Hard France Tak Khunn Wang 0–6, 6–4, 2–6
Win 2–1 Jun 2016 Russia F1, Moscow Futures Clay Slovakia Filip Horanský 6–3, 7–6(7–5)
Win 3–1 Sep 2016 Russia F8, Saint Petersburg Futures Hard (i) Russia Alexander Vasilenko 6–3, 7–5
Win 4–1 Oct 2016 Sweden F5, Falun Futures Hard (i) United Kingdom Edward Corrie 6–4, 6–4
Win 5–1 Feb 2017 Morelos, Mexico Challenger Hard Chile Nicolás Jarry 7–6(7–5), 6–4
Win 6–1 Aug 2017 Aptos, USA Challenger Hard United Kingdom Liam Broady 6–2, 6–3
Win 7–1 Nov 2018 Bratislava, Slovakia Challenger Hard (i) Czech Republic Lukáš Rosol 6–4, 6–4
Win 8–1 Feb 2019 Budapest, Hungary Challenger Hard (i) Italy Roberto Marcora 6–0, 6–3
Win 9–1 Mar 2019 Pau, France Challenger Hard (i) Slovakia Norbert Gombos 5–7, 6–3, 6–3
Win 10–1 Apr 2019 Monterrey, Mexico Challenger Hard Ecuador Emilio Gómez 6–3, 6–2

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)[]

Legend (Doubles)
ATP Challenger Tour (0–1)
ITF Futures Tour (3–3)
Titles by Surface
Hard (2–1)
Clay (1–2)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–1)
Result W–L    Date    Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 2014 Russia F6, Kazan Futures Clay Russia Roman Safiullin Russia Andrei Levine
Russia Anton Zaitcev 		1–6, 3–6
Win 1–1 Sep 2014 Russia F10, Vsevolozhsk Futures Clay Russia Richard Muzaev Estonia Vladimir Ivanov
Belarus Andrei Vasilevski 		6–3, 3–6, [11–9]
Win 2–1 Nov 2014 Estonia F4, Tallinn Futures Hard (i) Russia Evgeny Tyurnev Spain Iván Arenas-Gualda
Spain Jorge Hernando Ruano 		6–4, 6–7(5–7), [10–1]
Loss 2–2 Sep 2015 Russia F7, Vsevolozhsk Futures Clay Russia Richard Muzaev Ukraine Denys Molchanov
Belarus Yaraslav Shyla 		2–6, 6–7(3–7)
Win 3–2 Nov 2015 Turkey F43, Antalya Futures Hard Serbia Darko Jandrić Turkey Tuna Altuna
Turkey Cem İlkel 		3–6, 6–4, [10–8]
Loss 3–3 Jan 2016 Germany F2, Kaarst Futures Carpet (i) Poland Hubert Hurkacz Ukraine Danylo Kalenichenko
Germany Denis Kapric 		7–6(7–2), 4–6, [7–10]
Loss 3–4 Aug 2018 Jinan, China, P.R. Challenger Hard Russia Alexander Pavlioutchenkov Chinese Taipei Hsieh Cheng-peng
Chinese Taipei Yang Tsung-hua 		6–7(5–7), 6–4, [5–10]

Performance timelines[]

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS P NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Singles[]

Current through the 2021 Winston-Salem Open.

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 2R Q2 Q1 1R 2R 0 / 3 2–3 40%
French Open A Q3 Q1 2R 2R 1R 0 / 3 2–3 40%
Wimbledon A 1R Q2 1R NH 3R 0 / 3 2–3 40%
US Open A Q1 A 3R 1R 0 / 2 2–2 50%
Win–Loss 0–0 1–2 0–0 3–3 1–3 3–3 0 / 11 8–11 42%
National representation
Summer Olympics A Not Held 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Davis Cup A A A RR QR 0 / 1 4–1 80%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–0 0–1 0 / 2 4–2 67%
ATP Tour Masters 1000
Indian Wells Masters A Q2 Q2 A NH 0 / 0 0–0  – 
Miami Open A Q1 A 2R NH QF 0 / 2 4–2 67%
Monte-Carlo Masters A A A A NH 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Madrid Open A A A A NH QF 0 / 1 3–1 75%
Italian Open A A A A 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 0%
Canadian Open A A A Q1 NH 2R 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Cincinnati Masters A A A Q1 1R 2R 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Shanghai Masters A A A 1R NH 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Paris Masters A A A Q1 1R 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 0–3 8–6 0 / 11 9–11 45%
Career statistics
2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Career
Tournaments 2 3 4 14 16 23 62
Titles / Finals 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 4
Win–Loss 2–2 3–3 1–4 15–15 14–16 28–23 63–63
Win (%) 50% 50% 20% 50% 47% 55% 50%
Year-end ranking 205 117 162 56 50 $ 2,642,380

Doubles[]

Tournament 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A SF 3R 6–2
French Open A A A A 1R F 5–2
Wimbledon A A A 2R NH 1R 1–2
US Open A A A 1R A 0–1
Win–Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–2 4–2 7–3 12–7

Record against other players[]

Record against top-10 players[]

Bublik's match record against those who have been ranked in the top 10, with those who have been No. 1 in boldface

:* As of 18 August 2021

Top-10 wins[]

  • He has a 3–8 (27.3%) record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.
Season 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Total
Wins 0 0 0 0 1 2 3
# Player Rank Event Surface Round Score AB Rank
2020
1. France Gaël Monfils 9 French Open, France Clay 1R 6–4, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 49
2021
2. Italy Matteo Berrettini 10 Antalya, Turkey Hard QF 7–6(8–6), 6–4 49
3. Germany Alexander Zverev 7 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) 1R 7–5, 6–3 43
:* As of 24 July 2021

References[]

  1. ^ "Wimbledon: Alexander (Sasha) Bublik, 10 things you need to know about Andy Murray's first round opponent". Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Бублик признался в ненависти к теннису. Зачем он вообще выходит на корт?" [Bublik confessed his hatred towards tennis. Why does he keep going on a court at all?]. championat.com. Championat. 23 February 2021. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ lovetennis (February 21, 2020). "Alexander Bublik "I Hate Tennis With All My Heart" - Tennis News". Love Tennis. Retrieved September 24, 2020.
  4. ^ "Alexander Bublik | Player Activity | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  5. ^ , Wikipedia, 2018-05-14, retrieved 2020-01-14
  6. ^ "When money comes first: Sasha Bublik becomes a Kazakhstan player". Tennis World USA. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  7. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-08-02, retrieved 2020-01-14
  8. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-08-18, retrieved 2020-01-14
  9. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-12-07, retrieved 2020-01-14
  10. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-08-19, retrieved 2020-01-14
  11. ^ , Wikipedia, 2018-05-14, retrieved 2020-01-14
  12. ^ "Alexander Bublik | Rankings History | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  13. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-07-23, retrieved 2020-01-14
  14. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-09-14, retrieved 2020-01-14
  15. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-11-03, retrieved 2020-01-14
  16. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-04-08, retrieved 2020-01-14
  17. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-11-23, retrieved 2020-01-14
  18. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-08-19, retrieved 2020-01-14
  19. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-12-03, retrieved 2020-01-14
  20. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-11-03, retrieved 2020-01-14
  21. ^ "Alexander Bublik | Rankings History | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved 2020-01-14.
  22. ^ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/andujar-martinez-roland-garros-2021-doubles
  23. ^ https://www.atptour.com/en/news/herbert-mahut-roland-garros-2021-doubles-sf
  24. ^ https://sportsfinding.com/roland-garros-martinez-and-andujar-are-left-out-of-the-doubles-final/100402/
  25. ^ https://www.rolandgarros.com/en-us/article/rg2021-the-bublik-golubev-show-moves-on-to-doubles-final
  26. ^ "Teams Announced for 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers". 22 January 2019.
  27. ^ , Wikipedia, 2019-11-26, retrieved 2020-01-14

External links[]

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