French Open star credits 'Hangover' Las Vegas trip for form revival
Alexander Bublik has reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time at the French Open
French Open star Alexander Bublik has attributed his recent upswing in form to a "Hangover"-esque trip to Las Vegas. The Russian-born Kazakh player is currently ranked 62nd in the world.
So far at the French Open, tournament bosses have been forced to bring in added security, Novak Djokovic shared his concerns after PSG's Champions League win - with celebrations turning sour in the city center - and Mirra Andreeva made an awkward U-turn after mocking the crowd over the game.
Despite reaching the top 20 at Wimbledon last year, Bublik confessed to experiencing burnout in his quest for higher rankings. After six first-round exits in his first eight tournaments this year, he took a much-needed break in Las Vegas.
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Upon his return, he made it to the final of a Challenger Event in Phoenix, won in Turin, and has now reached the fourth round of the French Open for the first time. "I dropped out of the top 50 for the first time probably in my life," he shared. "For six years I was there, and then I had a drop. I was on a losing streak, and then I have basically an option to take it a bit seriously in a way. I guess there was just a shift in the mentality because I had no options whatsoever.
"Getting to 17 in the world, which was a big thing for me. You know, I never thought I could make it to the top 20. I made it to 17. Then I'm, like, okay: 'I have to do this and that, I have to practice harder. Work on my diet, stop drinking, stop partying. Have to be a more professional soldier, I would say, as we are in a game'."
The tennis pro candidly spoke about the relentless pressure to perform at a high level, which eventually led to his burnout despite intense practice and dedication: "Like right now everybody is like robots, and they're just crazy, crazy performance guys. Unfortunately my fall was not linked with lack of attitude and lack of practicing. It was the exact opposite. I just burned out because I was waiting for the results to come."
Reflecting on his career and questioning his sacrifices, he recounted his coach's unconventional advice: "Then I got to the point, like, Okay, why am I sacrificing so much? For what? I am 80 in the world. My coach suggests a trip to Vegas in between Indian Wells and Phoenix. He's like: 'Man, if you play like this, we're just going to be out of tennis, of the conversation by Wimbledon because that's where my points are. I mean, after Wimbledon I made, like, 50 points."
Embracing a radical approach, he took a chance on a refreshing break and equipment changes: "I said: Okay, let's go to Vegas. We enjoy. We change the racket. We did many things. I said, Okay, if it goes, it goes. If not, thank you very much, tennis, and it worked."
When queried about the nature of his Vegas trip, he clarified with humor: "No, Vegas, Vegas, like a Hangover thing Vegas, yeah. So it was a good three days in Vegas. I arrived three hours before the match in Phoenix, and I had just leave it all out. I said: 'Okay, I'm useless now, I can't win a match, so let it be, let's see how it goes.'".
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Looking back on matches against competitor Jack Draper, he shared his impression in awe: "Jack for me is insane. I saw him first day here. I'm like, Are you getting ready for UFC? Last year the guy is 40 in the world. This year he is top four, top five in the world.
"That's a crazy achievement. He doesn't seem to stop, so I mean, what do I have to do to beat him? I don't know. I will just go there, enjoy the time, show what I'm capable of showing, and we all know what I'm capable of doing on court and then we see how it goes.
"This is the approach I have now, and Jack is a great sportsman, great person. I know him since -- I mean, I played him in the quallies of Queen's in 2018 or something. He was a little kid. Then when he beat me in Queen's, and he told me -- I didn't remember that.
"He told me, I finally got you. I said, 'Let's speak when you are in top 50', because he was like 300 in the world striking everything, and now he's top 10. So now I have to have some courage to play, and we'll see how it goes. He's amazing. He's, like, No. 2 in the race or something, 3? What is that? I don't understand. That's too good."
