‘We live in a fake world’: Alexander Bublik on honesty, insults and why doubles isn’t real tennis

Bublik spent much of his 20s declaring his lack of interest in anything related to tennis outside making money. He did not apologise for his relative lack of commitment to the sport, from his poor diet to a lack of consistency on the court. A pertinent example of his questionable professionalism came early in his career, the first time he competed at Wimbledon in 2017. After reaching the main draw as a lucky loser, Bublik headed back to St Petersburg and spent his days hanging out in the city. He returned to London only a day before his first round match against Andy Murray, the world No 1 and defending champion, naturally losing in straight sets.

It is a reflection of his enviable talent that, after years of not fully committing to his tennis, his transformation was so quick. Bublik ended the clay-court season last year by defeating Alex de Minaur and Jack Draper, ranked No 9 and No 5, en-route to his first grand slam quarter-final at the French Open. In his next tournament, Bublik toppled the No 1 Jannik Sinner on the way to winning the ATP 500 title in Halle. Having won five titles over the past year, the 28-year-old broke into the top 10 for the first time in his career in January. He now sits at No 11.

Reaching the top 10 is impressive, but as underlined by Sunday’s 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 defeat to the 19th seed Learner Tien in the third round at the Italian Open, it is far tougher to maintain that status week in, week out. The top players have targets on their backs and it is far easier to swing freely with nothing to lose. Bublik will have a significant amount of points to defend over the coming months, starting with his return to Roland Garros one year on from the most beautiful moment of his career. His handling of these new experiences will say plenty about him.

The one thing that has not changed with Bublik is his willingness to speak his mind. In a recent interview with Bounces, Bublik spoke disdainfully about his doubles specialist colleagues on the tour. The question of why he does not view doubles specialists as real tennis players leads to another scathing retort: “Because they’re doubles players,” he says. “It’s not tennis. It’s half tennis. If you can’t play singles, you play doubles. If you can’t play doubles, you play padel. Very simple.”

While most millionaire players are hesitant to speak about their earnings, money is another subject that Bublik often speaks freely on. During the earlier years of his career, Bublik knew he was not capable of competing for the biggest trophies, but that he could certainly make himself a wealthy person who could then invest in his career.

Alexander Bublik walks on to Wimbledon’s Centre Court for his match against Andy Murray in 2017. He had arrived in London only the day before. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

“I think you realise that quickly once you start making your first money playing tennis that it’s a big business,” he says. “It’s nice to win trophies, it’s nice to be playing in a beautiful arena, it’s all nice but at the end of the day you got to pay yourself and I think that was the very first motivation that I had when I became a professional tennis player.”

That motivation has changed. Bublik found himself on the right path because he finally understood that success meant viewing his career as work, and therefore applying himself to his work every day. In the process, something surprising occurred; having spent most of his 20s expressing his hatred of tennis to anyone who would listen, he actually came to find enjoyment and meaning in his chosen sport. The next challenge is maintaining the standards he has set despite the added pressure that comes with the new, great heights he has reached.