Alexander Bublik won his fourth ATP title in 2024, as he maintained his place in the world’s top 50.
Bublik enjoyed another strong season on the ATP Tour this year, as he continued to impress amongst the elite in men’s tennis.
Bublik won the Open Suud de France earlier this year, beating Borna Coric 7-5, 2-6, 3-6 in the final.
It was his second title at the event, having won for the first time back in 2022.
Bublik then reached the final of the Dubai ATP 500 event, losing out to Ugo Humbert in straight sets in the final.
As is often the case with Bublik, however, it wasn’t necessarily his tennis that made the headlines in 2024, as he now reveals how he thinks his fellow ATP stars view him.
Alexander Bublik says some ATP players don’t even acknowledge him
Speaking on the Nothing Major podcast, Bublik was asked whether he cares what his fellow ATP stars think about him.
“No, not at all,” he said.
“I think the only thing that matters for me is that my fellow players know that I am real.
“If I like someone I do it genuinely.
“I’m not the guy who says ‘Oh text me anytime I will do anything for you’ and then you text me and I disappear.
“I would rather not tell you anything and not answer.”
The Kazakh star went on to explain why maintaining friendships can be hard on the court.
“[I don’t want] to be your friend and hug you on the court and then the next time we’re on court I do a medical time out at 6-5 before you are serving,” said Bublik.
“Most important to me is that my fellow players think I am fair enough and that I am a real guy.
“If I don’t like someone he knows it, clearly.
“They don’t even say hi to me and I don’t say hi to them because I don’t like them, for various reasons.”
Finally, Bublik summed things up by revealing how he wants to be remembered in the sport.
“The ones that someone would describe me after my career I would say that I was the one who real,” he said.
“If I am a friend, I am a friend, and if I am an enemy, I’m an enemy.”
Alexander Bublik’s biggest tennis controversies
The world number 33 is never too far away from the headlines in tennis, having been involved in a fair few controversial moments during his time on the ATP Tour.
Whether it be underarm serves, post-match comments, or racket smashes, there isn’t much that Bublik hasn’t done in the world of tennis.
2024 – Ugo Humbert (Paris Masters)
Having fallen to the Frenchman earlier in the season, there was no love lost between the pair when the Paris Masters came around in November.
Humbert was criticized for celebrating against an injured Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals, much to the annoyance of the Russian.
Humbert then fell to a convincing defeat against Alexander Zverev in the final, prompting Bublik to make his thoughts heard on social media.
“Not so loud today lol,” commented Bublik on Instagram.
2023 – Dominic Thiem (US Open)
Dominic Thiem beat Bublik in straight sets in the first round of the 2023 US Open, his only main draw Grand Slam win since struggling with injury.
It was Thiem’s injuries that were the subject of controversy during the match, as Bublik was reportedly heard saying he was sick of ‘giving back to disabled people’ in Russian during his defeat to the Austrian.
Fans and players were far from impressed with the Kazakh star’s language, and fellow controversial star Nick Kyrgios took to X to express his disgust.
“This is low key horrible,” he said.
Thiem retired from tennis after the 2024 season, having struggled with those same injuries for several years.
2020 – Alexander Bublik says he ‘hates tennis’
Speaking in an interview with L’Equipe in 2020, Bublik spoke candidly about his thoughts on the sport, much to the disapproval of fans.
“I hate tennis with all my heart,” he said.
“To be honest, I don’t see anything positive about being a tennis player at all.
“I only play for money, if there was no money, I would immediately stop playing tennis but so far I haven’t earned enough.”
He later backtracked on those comments, claiming that he was enduring a tough period in his career at the time of the interview.
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