Alexander Bublik’s brutal admission after Hubert Hurkacz win, ‘If I lost, it would be the last time I came to Rotterdam’

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Alexander Bublik was unapologetically himself in his Rotterdam opener…

The Kazakh dropped the first set to Hubert Hurkacz and started complaining.

Bublik shared his frustrations with the Rotterdam Open draw before suggesting he played like ‘Djokovic’ compared to Hurkacz.

Calming down, Bublik came through to win in three sets, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, securing his place in the third round.

During his on-court interview, the world number 10 shared just how much was on the line for him against Hurkacz.

Alexander Bublik suggests he would never have returned to the Rotterdam Open if he lost

“It’s only one match, I’ve never passed the second round here,” said Bublik.

“I thought it was going to be the last time.

“If I lost, it would be the last time I came to Rotterdam.

“But I’m really happy to get through.”

You can understand why Bublik was considering scrapping Rotterdam from his schedule, given his dire record in the Netherlands.

Alexander Bublik’s record at the Rotterdam Open (4-6)

• 2020 Rotterdam Open R32 [WIN] vs Gregoire Barrere
• 2020 Rotterdam Open R16 [LOSS] vs Andrey Rublev
• 2021 Rotterdam Open R32 [WIN] vs Alexander Zverev
• 2021 Rotterdam Open R16 [LOSS] vs Tommy Paul
• 2022 Rotterdam Open R32 [LOSS] vs Andy Murray
• 2023 Rotterdam Open R32 [LOSS] vs Stan Wawrinka
• 2024 Rotterdam Open R32 [WIN] vs Borna Coric
• 2024 Rotterdam Open R16 [LOSS] vs Milos Raonic
• 2025 Rotterdam Open R32 [LOSS] vs Jakub Mensik
• 2026 Rotterdam Open R32 [WIN] vs Hubert Hurkacz

Battling through in three sets, Bublik guaranteed he will play at least one more match at the Rotterdam Open.

“It was a challenging match, very bad level, to be honest,” he said.

“We played quite bad tennis today, but I guess I was lucky, very lucky, to get a couple of mistakes at the right moment from him.

“When he was serving for the match, he gave me the game.

“I didn’t do much; for me, it was just about who was luckier today.”

Alexander Bublik vs Hubert Hurkacz – Match stats

Bublik was then asked how he was able to win a match he may have lost a year ago.

“I grew up a bit, in the sense that I’d rather stay home than be here,” he said.

“If I came here already, let me fight until the end.

“If I’m meant to lose, it’s ok, but I want to be at peace with myself that I gave everything, and I did today.

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“It turned out like this, I could have lost 7-6, 6-4, I could have lost in three sets, but I just said to myself, Ok, if I’m losing, I’m losing, but I’m not coming here just to tank the first match if something goes wrong, I’d rather stay home.”

Bublik is through to the third round, but who will he play next?

Can Alexander Bublik win back-to-back matches in Rotterdam for the first time?

Next up for Bublik is Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, another big server.

Looking at their respective rankings, Bublik should be the favorite.

• Alexander Bublik – #10
• Jan-Lennard Struff – #82

However, their head-to-head record tells another story.

Alexander Bublik and Jan-Lennard Struff’s head-to-head record

It’s tough to predict who will emerge victorious, but you certainly won’t want to miss any of the action.

If Bublik were to advance, he’d meet Spain’s Jaume Munar or Russia’s Karen Khachanov in the quarterfinals.