“I lost the set again,” Alexander Bublik laces interview responses with trademark humor after a defining win in Montpellier

Bublik defeated Borna Coric 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 in the final to win the 2024 Montpellier Open.

“I lost the set again,” Alexander Bublik laces interview responses with trademark humor after a defining win in Montpellier

Alexander Bublik (Source: Open Source/X)

The 2024 Open Sud de France has come to an end and Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik emerged as the unexpected champion. The second seed of the tournament defeated Borna Coric in the final to lift his first trophy of 2024. The Kazakh has successfully redeemed himself after his first-round exit against India’s Sumit Nagal in the 2024 Australian Open and this will definitely add a lot to his confidence. 

Before the tournament had begun, top seed Holger Rune was the unanimous favorite to lift the trophy, being the 7th-ranked ATP player in the world. Unfortunately, he lost to Borna Coric in the semifinal, as the Danish had to retire in the middle of the match due to a forearm injury. He was already losing 3-6, 1-4 when he retired, though. After the elimination of the favorite, the competition became wide open and Alexander Bublik successfully capitalized on it. 

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Bublik defeated Denis Shapalov in the first round, Alexander Shevchenko in the second round and Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals to reach the final, where he defeated Croatia’s Borna Coric. In a weird coincidence, Bublik lost the first set of all the matches that he played in this tournament, and upon being asked about it in the on-court interview after his match against Coric, he gave a hilarious reply. 

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Honestly after 4-1 I asked my coach what I should do. He gave me good advice. So I lost the set again. 

Alexander Bublik becomes the first man to win an ATP title losing the first set in every match

Bublik is actually the first-ever player to achieve this feat in an ATP tournament. After the match, Bublik said that he had flashbacks after losing the first set, but ended up winning the match anyway. He went on to praise Coric for being a ‘fighter’ and wish him a good comeback. 

Alexander Bublik (KAZ) and Borna Coric (CRO) handshake (Source: Imago)
It’s a pleasure. What can I say? Being here again with a trophy, in Montpellier, where I won my very first title, being with my coach & my wife here... Borna, you’re such a fighter. I wasn’t expecting the match to be like it was in Halle. I had flashbacks already that I’m gonna lose when I lost the first set. You’re a great fighter. I wish you all the best. I wish you a good comeback. 
Bublik post his win

The Kazakh has made a quick turnaround in his form considering that he lost in straight sets against a much lower-ranked player in just the last tournament that he played. He will now shift his focus to the middle-east swing. 

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