Alexander Bublik Gives Honest Take on Challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on Tour

Without a doubt, Alexander Bublik has had an impressive start to the season. The Kazakhstan star reached the fourth round of the Australian Open and won the Hong Kong Open, which led him to break into the top 10. But the 28-year-old believes he and other players are far from challenging Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on tour.

In 2024 and 2025, Alcaraz and Sinner dominated the men’s circuit, winning all Grand Slams. Their rivalry has seen them face each other in three of the last four Grand Slam finals. Also, no player except Alcaraz and Sinner has won a Grand Slam men’s singles on tour since the 2024 season.

Novak Djokovic came close to breaking the curse at the 2026 Australian Open, where he shockingly defeated Sinner in five sets. The win was the 38-year-old’s first victory over Sinner since 2023. But in the final, he faced Alcaraz and won the first set, but failed to carry on with the momentum, losing in four sets.

Sinner and Alcaraz now look to be continuing their dominance on tour this season, despite other players pushing them hard. Alcaraz nearly lost to Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals of the Australian Open, but the Spaniard regrouped in time to claim the win after five hours and 30 minutes in five sets at the Rod Laver Arena.

Bublik, who has experienced a rejuvenating form since June, fell to Sinner in the fourth round of the 2025 US Open. During a conversation on the Nothing Major Podcast, with ex-players John Isner and Sam Querrey.

The World No.10 admitted that he doesn’t hear any player except Alcaraz and Sinner talk about winning a Slam. He added that other players only tend to get close to winning a Slam but eventually fail to do so:

I don’t hear anyone talking about winning Slams. The aura in the locker room is more like: we try to get close, but eventually one of those guys is probably going to win. If both Alcaraz and Sinner were out early, that would be a mess. Imagine Wimbledon with both of them out and we’re all in the quarter-finals. That would be nuts. Everyone would feel extra pressure.

Bublik reached the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time in his career. He was seen as the dark horse contender for the title following his victory at the Hong Kong Open, but he fell to Alex de Minaur in straight sets. The Kazakhstan star is currently in Astana for the Davis Cup qualifiers.

Alexander Bublik looking forward to playing at the 2026 MGM Slam exhibition tournament

Kazakhstan is set to face Monaco at the Davis Cup qualifiers. The match will be played in Astana, which sits at a temperature of minus 30 degrees. However, after the match and the Middle East swing, Alexander Bublik is scheduled to travel to Las Vegas for an exhibition match. The exhibition match is presented by Capital One and known as the MGM Slam.

The exhibition match will feature eight players competing for a whopping $1 million prize pool. During the aforementioned conversation, Bublik noted that he’s looking forward to competing at the tournament. He added that he has heard good things about the tournament and the city:

It’s going to be really exciting for me to go back to Vegas after my last trip, which in a way changed my season. I’m really looking forward to that. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the arena, and I’m really excited to face Nick in the first match. Taylor is always locked in. I’ve seen him at other events — no fun, just hitting winners, not even smiling. He’s going to be dangerous.

The MGM Slam will take place on March 1 in Las Vegas. Lorenzo Musetti, Taylor Fritz, Nick Kyrgios, Casper Ruud and Tommy Paul are the top stars who will feature at the exhibition tournament. The match will come just days after the Dubai Tennis Championships

Also Read: Andy Roddick Draws Comparisons of Carlos Alcaraz’s Dropshot and Stephen Curry’s Three-Point Shot

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