Alexander Bublik is a man on a mission in 2025, and he looks destined to end the year with a flourish.
Bublik is in contention for the ATP Finals after he picked up the Hangzhou Open title to win a fourth title of the calendar year.
In the past, Bublik has drawn criticism for the effort he’s produced in certain matches, with a recent thrashing coming at the hands of Jannik Sinner at the US Open.
Bublik is one of the game’s characters, and something he has achieved with his latest tournament win suggests that he’s started to prove John McEnroe right.
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Alexander Bublik proving John McEnroe comments about him exactly right
Earlier this year, Bublik stunned Jack Draper and knocked him out of the French Open.
The result was a surprise to McEnroe, who went on a bit of a rant about Bublik and what he could achieve in the game if he applied himself properly.
McEnroe said on Bublik: “Bublik has always been a talented guy. I shudder to think what he would have been like if he actually tried half of the time, he reminds me of Nick Kyrgios because it’s not just about winning or losing with him, I’ve heard him say before that he doesn’t want to be at the top, he wants to entertain.
“For me, he looks like he could be in the top 15 in the world, certainly on the form he showed here.”
Now, after he claimed a fourth title of the year, Bublik is up to number 16 in the world, and perhaps McEnroe had a point all along.
Bublik can enjoy his tennis and entertain whilst still going out there and playing lights-out tennis and pinching titles along the way.
Bublik does something that only Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have done since 2019
In winning four titles in one year, Bublik has joined an elite group.
Bublik is only the third player, after Alcaraz and Djokovic, to win a title on each surface in the same year since 2019.
It serves to highlight that when he applies himself properly, not only is Bublik capable, but he can flick the switch to play on a number of different surfaces too.
The rest of the year promises to be exciting for Bublik and if he could gatecrash the ATP Finals, that would represent a remarkable year for him.
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