Alexander Bublik

[Lucas]

[Damian]

11.06.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 134

[Damian]

19.06.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 128

[Lucas]

[Barty]

Bublik ready for dream date with Murray

Spoiler:

Lucky loser ecstatic to be facing Andy Murray on Centre Court READ MORE

On Friday afternoon Alexander Bublik was heading to Starbucks, trying to forget about Wimbledon. Still smarting from his defeat in five sets to Daniel Brands in the final round of qualifying, the 20-year-old was searching for flights to Italy. Then a message popped up on his phone.

“My father texted me: You’re playing Andy Murray, first round,” he said. “I saw the text and thought, of course not, what are you talking about. Then I checked the draw, and I dropped my phone – no way, this can’t be real! I was jumping around like a dope, saying it’s a joke.”
No joke, Alex. With Pablo Cuevas ruled out of The Championships by a knee injury, a 17th place opened up for the qualifiers, with the last spot to be chosen at random between the four top-ranked players to lose in the final round at Roehampton. Bublik, the fourth of the four, was drawn to be this year’s lucky loser – and when the qualifiers were placed in the draw, his name landed alongside that of the defending champion.
The Kazakh’s only previous experience of The Championships came as a junior two years ago, when he lost in the first round. On Monday, he and Murray will be the first players to set foot on Centre Court in 2017.
“In my life, I’ve never got a lucky loser spot – never,” Bublik said, wearing a smile that hasn’t been far from his face these past 24 hours. “Even in juniors, I was never once a lucky loser. Now I’m playing Wimbledon for the first time, and playing the defending champion on Centre Court. It’s huge.”
It sounds like the sort of assignment that might overwhelm most Wimbledon debutants, but Bublik, already a popular, wise-cracking member of the men’s locker room in his first full season on tour, seems unlikely to be fazed. He has two Wawrinka-style quote tattoos either side of a map of his home town of St Petersburg on his right forearm – the first says, ‘You won’t break me, just make me stronger’; the second: ‘Always be a leader, not a follower’.
Shortly before speaking to wimbledon.com, he stopped to say hello to Australia’s John Millman, who gave him a hard time for his last-minute request for a practice session. “This guy was texting around looking for a hitting partner, at what time?” Millman asked him.
“At 9am,” Bublik replied. “I’m still looking for a doubles partner, too.”
Even when I got here for juniors two years ago, I remember thinking, that’s what tennis was like 100 years ago. I’m very excited to play, especially to open up on Centre Court
- Alexander Bublik
Such is life for a young player on the verge of breaking free of the Challenger circuit and joining the polished ranks of the ATP tour. It’s already been a fine season for Bublik, who beat world No.16 Lucas Pouille on his Australian Open debut, also as a qualifier, before claiming his first Challenger title in Mexico in February. He reached a career-high ranking of No.128 just two weeks ago.
Nevertheless, as emotional roller coasters go, Bublik’s last few days take some beating. He can’t remember crying because of a tennis match before, but after his defeat in the final round of qualifying at Roehampton – 12-10 in the fifth set – the tears came. “It was the first time in my life, probably,” he said. “I was so down mentally, having played for four hours, but my opponent was playing unbelievable.”
Within a day, he was making plans for accommodation in south-west London, sorting out his Wimbledon whites and taking a quick tour of Centre Court, two days before he makes his Championships debut there.
“Wimbledon feels special,” Bublik said. “Even when I got here for juniors two years ago, I remember thinking, that’s what tennis was like 100 years ago. I’m very excited to play, especially to open up on Centre Court.”
Those looking for omens, brace yourself: the last player to emerge from qualifying to play the defending champion in the first round was Ivo Karlovic, who stunned Lleyton Hewitt on Centre Court in 2003.
Not that Bublik needs any such encouragement. The ATP NextGen star’s stock is on the rise, and with a fast court beneath his feet, he fears nobody.
“This week last year, I lost in the first round of a $10,000 ITF Futures event in Turkey,” Bublik recalls. “But I’ve worked hard. The season started pretty well in Australia. By March, after Indian Wells and Miami, I felt tired – I still need to work on my physical development, because I’m not playing constantly at the moment.
“Now I’m back into the rhythm and I’m getting better, especially now we’re back on the fast surfaces. On clay courts, with my serve, I’m not very well prepared yet. But grass courts are my courts. I think I can give a great battle to Andy.”

http://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/art ... urray.html

[DUN I LOVE]

Mimo gładkiej porażki do Murraya na Wimbledonie, powinien podskoczyć w rankingu Sasza.

122 Michaił Kukuszkin - 430
123 Alexander Bublik - 429
124 Jürgen Melzer - 429

[Damian]

17.07.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 124

[Damian]

24.07.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 122

[Damian]

14.08.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 104

[Barty]

CH Aptos: Bublik z tytułem.

Nordic Naturals Challenger (Aptos, California, USA): Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik boosted his chances of qualifying for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Brit Liam Broady in Aptos. It is the 20 year old’s second Challenger title of the season after Morelos, Mexico in February and boosts him to a career-high No. 104 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. It is the 12th time this season a NextGenATP player has won on the ATP Challenger Tour. It brought Broady’s run of six straight wins to an end, having won through qualifying.

[Damian]

Challenger Q&A: Bublik Reacts To Winning In Aptos

Spoiler:

Alexander Bublik sits down with USTA Pro Circuit broadcaster Mike Cation after claiming his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Aptos
Kazakhstan's #NextGenATP star Alexander Bublik is soaring towards the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, after claiming his second ATP Challenger Tour title in Aptos, California. Bublik lifted the trophy on Sunday with a strong 6-2, 6-3 victory over Liam Broady. He now sits at a career-high No. 104 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, climbing 21 spots.
Bublik's win marks the 12th time a player from the #NextGenATP contingent has won on the Challenger circuit this year. He previously prevailed on the hard courts of Morelos, Mexico, in February.

You had some difficult losses the last couple weeks in Binghamton and Lexington. What was your mindset coming into Aptos?
It was a rough couple weeks for me. I lost to Christian Harrison and Dominik Koepfer. I had some struggles with my team a little bit. We decided to just enjoy it and work a little harder on improving my tennis. It just worked.
You had a tough first round match-up with Mitchell Krueger and you looked incredibly focused from then on. What was the key to your week here in Aptos?
The confidence came when I started playing more serious tennis on the court. Less jokes. The first match against Mitchell gave me a lot of confidence. He's a great player and it was a tough match. I was down in the third set and found my way back. I was just really focused and it gave me confidence.
The 6-1, 6-1 win over Henri Laaksonen was a big one. He had that one shank miss in his first service game and from there you cruised. How are you finding yourself in those moments against Top 100 players?
I just need to be confident and focus on my game. I don't really look at the rankings for who I'm playing. Outside the top guys, like Andy or Roger, who you're watching more often, I don't see much of a difference. I just try to win whenever I step on court.

In the final, you had two championship points and decided to go pretty big with your serve, double faulted, and came back with an ace on your third to take it. What was your thinking as you tried to close it out?
I struggled a bit there. I was thinking 'ok, let's put the first serve in'. I missed. 'Ok, let's put the second serve in'. I missed again. I made three double faults in a row. Then I just tried to put the serve in again and I made an ace and then another ace on match point. I was a little nervous in the end.
What does this win bring you going into the US Open qualies? You're right on the cusp of the Top 100.
Yeah, I'm feeling great, especially since I'm very close to the Top 100. It's a great feeling. I just need to continue working hard and try to keep improving.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/apt ... atp-winner

[grzes430]

21.08.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 103

[Lucas]

Najwyższy ranking w karierze (11.09.17): 101

[DUN I LOVE]

No i jest seteczka.

Od przyszłego poniedziałku Aleksander zawita do tego elitarnego grona.

95 Peter Gojowczyk - 544
96 Alexander Bublik - 544
97 Laslo Djere - 542

[Damian]

18.09.2017

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 96

[Damian]

[DUN I LOVE]

Marnuje swoje szanse na coraz wyższy ranking Sasza. Porażka z Petroviciem w Izmirze to spore rozczarowanie, a miejsce w Top-90 było spokojnie w zasięgu.

[Lucas]

Najwyższy ranking w karierze (25.09.17): 95

[DUN I LOVE]

Się zastanawiałem rok temu, gdzie o tej porze 2017 roku będzie Bublik. Progres zauważalny (z początku trzeciej setki awansował na ogon TOP-100), ale chyba nie aż tak duży jak na to liczyłem. Jak był graczem z poziomu CH, tak wciąż nim jest, może poza tym Pucharem Kremla. Rok temu pokonał tu Aguta, dziś Ramosa. Wrócił do QF.

[robpal]