Alexander Bublik imitates John Travolta following match point save before loss to Holger Rune at Madrid Open
Alexander Bublik pulled off John Travolta's iconic gesture from the movie "Pulp Fiction" to celebrate saving a match point against Holger Rune at the Madrid Open.
Bublik and Rune squared off in the second round of the Masters event on Friday (April 28). After splitting the first two sets, both players gave it their all in the decider.
Serving at 5-6, Bublik held on to force the set into a tie-break. At 6-5 and serving, Rune nearly won the match for the second time but was denied by the Kazakh, who came up with a sublime volley to leave his opponent as well as fans spellbound.
Bublik followed the remarkable shot with an equally remarkable celebration.
Bublik really hit the Travolta celebration after saving match point against Rune 😂
#MMOpen https://t.co/OUT8xtfVaZ
However, it was Rune who had the last laugh, wrapping up the tie-break with a second-serve ace to win 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(9).
During his on-court interview, Rune admitted that Bublik gave him a "tough match."
"Honestly I'm out of words right now. It was such a tough match," he said. "In these kind of conditions, it's altitude, it's very fast compared to what I've played so far."
Rune will face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round on Sunday (April 30). This will be their first-ever meeting on tour.
"I had to really dig deep and find solutions" - Holger Rune on his win over Alexander Bublik
Holger Rune continued his praise of Alexander Bublik during his post-match interview and said he had to "dig deep" for the win.
"Bublik, we all know how he's playing. He's playing super aggressive, taking the ball aggressive and early. So I had to really dig deep and find solutions. I was brave at the end and that's what made the difference," Rune said.
The 20-year-old also credited the Kazakh for his serves, which are "too good" at times.
"I just had to focus on myself, try to do everything I can because when he puts those serves in, it's just too good sometimes," he added.
Following his defeat on Friday, Bublik dropped to 5-15 for the season, while Holger Rune has claimed 20 wins from 27 matches, including a title run at the BMW Open in Munich last week.