Tennis is a sport with many unique characters on the Tour and Alexander Bublik is without a doubt one of those.
The 25-year-old Kazakh can be described as his country’s version of Nick Kyrgios with his use of the underarm serve and his good sense of humour during matches. Although he has never been involved in as much controversy as Kyrgios has throughout his career.
Bublik achieved a ranking-best of No.30 earlier this season after winning his first Tour title at the Montpellier Open. He has also finished runner-up at five other ATP tournaments between 2019-2022. According to the ATP, he has won 15 indoor matches this year which is more than any other player.
After a series of shock defeats at this week’s UniCredit Firenze Open in Florence, Bublik is the third-highest-ranked player remaining in the draw. On Wednesday he defeated Corentin Moutet 7-5, 6-4, in the second round and afterwards spoke with Ubitennis. Despite the late night ending of his match, Ubaldo Scanagatta – who know Bublik since he was younger, when his manager Corrado Tschabuschnig helped him to get their first interview – waited for him until 2AM to get this wide-ranging interview. Addressing his love for Italy and why he previously said he only played tennis for the money.
UBITENNIS: Congratulations on winning against Moutet. It is the second match in a row that you have won in two sets. How do you like this court and what do you think about your performance?
BUBLIK: The club is great and it is close to the hotel which is enjoyable because I like to play in Italy. Unfortunately, there aren’t many weeks (on the Tour) where you can play in Italy on hardcourts.
Rome is one of my favorite tournaments. I always enjoy playing in Italy and having a hard court event here (in Florence) helps. I will try to stay focused. Enjoy being here, the food and the crowd. It’s a great week for me and if I can keep going it’s great.
UBITENNIS: You were in the same half of the draw as Matteo Berrettini who lost on Wednesday. Could this help you in the tournament?
BUBLIK: I don’t know. I mean, yea Matteo lost and it is a pity for the Italian fans because they support him very much. If Roberto Carballes can beat Matteo, he can beat anybody. That is how tennis is nowadays. He can be 80th in the world, produce his best tennis and beat anybody. So it doesn’t really matter if Matteo is in my draw or not because we have to beat some very good players.
UBITENNIS: You are number 43 in the world now, does it make a difference at all and what are your expectations for the rest of your career? You’re only 25 and many players have got their best ranking when they were 27 or 28. Meanwhile, Nadal and Federer have gotten better with their strokes as they get older.
BUBLIK: I don’t think there is a big difference between starting in the top 10 and up to 50th in the world. You can see guys like Carballes beating Matteo. Of course, being 30th in the world rankings is better because you are higher seeded in ATP 250 events, seeded in Grand Slams and it helps with your draw. But In terms of level, I believe it is pretty much the same level as the top 10. The top 10 guys do play differently a little bit but still, it is not 1999 anymore when there were like three players and nobody else. Everybody can play tennis and every match is tough regardless of who you play.
UBITENNIS: You seem to have a good relationship with Italy. You have a manager, Corrado Tschabuschnig, who is Italian and a former Italian sponsor, why do you have this relationship with Italy? Have you seen Florence at all?
BUBLIK: Unfortunately I have had no time (to see Florence). I have an emotional connection with Italy. I enjoy the food, it is my favorite cuisine because it is the only one I can cook. It is very simple.
UBITENNIS: What do you cook?
BUBLIK: I can cook pretty much any spaghetti.
I do have an emotional connection to Italy, as I have previously said Rome is one of my favorite tournaments even though it is on clay. Every time I feel that I am at home and I like the people, pretty much everything. It fits me and my family well. My wife and Kid are not here but my Wife always enjoys Rome every time we go there.
Now playing here in Florence on my best surface is a pleasure for me.
UBITENNIS: You were born in Gatchina, Russia. It is good for you that six years ago you started to play for Kazakhstan with everything going on with the Russian War in Ukraine?
BUBLIK: I represent the country that I am playing for. Yes, I was born in Russia and have lived there for most of my life. I moved to Kazakhstan in 2016 and there is a big emotional connection there. What they did for me is incredible and how they helped me when I was in need. Of course, I do feel Russian with my whole family being from Russia. But being a player who represents Kazakhstan in the world arenas is a pleasure for me and I feel very proud.
UBITENNIS: You once made a declaration that you played tennis not because you liked it but because you wanted to make money. I am not sure if this was a joke or perhaps badly reported in the media. So do you love tennis? I saw you in the gym until 1:30 am after one match.
BUBLIK: The media has been doing it wrong many times. With my speeches, sometimes they take my words out (of context) and use them. It was not a joke that I said I play tennis for money because at that specific moment I was not enjoying what I was doing. But as time went by and it has been three years since that interview, things have changed a lot and I do enjoy playing tennis now because I realized that this is what I wanted to do when I was a kid. When I was growing up I was standing in front of the mirror wearing Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer clothes dreaming of playing in (tennis) arenas.
When this thing (media reports on Bublik’s comment) about playing for money got too big, I was like this is not entirely true because I was dreaming of standing here in front of thousands of people. I definitely enjoy and love playing tennis.
Being a professional, there are still people within the circuit who are like do you have a coach? Do you have a fitness trainer? And they are surprised. It happens to me but slowly I can become as professional as some of the greats of the game.
