WATCH: Alexander Bublik reacts to crowd's applause on underarm serve at Barcelona Open
Alexander Bublik saw the lighter side of things and soaked in cheers from the crowd after he broke a seven-game losing streak with an underarm serve in a first-round match at the Barcelona Open on Monday. Bublik smiled and engaged with the crowd after pulling off yet another underarm serve.
Bublik trailed Emil Ruusuvuori 0-6, 0-1 in the Round-of-16 clash on the Pista Rafa Nadal court and finally held three game points on his own serve. He then surprised his opponent with an underarm serve and hit a backhand winner off the return of serve to win his first game of the match.
Fans then applauded the Kazakh player and he recognized the applause with a smile.
Need a hold of serve... underarm does the trick for Bublik in @RCTB1899
😜
#BCNOpenBS https://t.co/qKy1Z7D14q
Bublik fought harder in the second set but eventually lost the match 0-6, 3-6. The world No. 55, known for his dislike of clay-courts, also bowed out in the opening round of the Monte-Carlo Masters last week. However, he stretched Alexander Zverev to the limit before losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6.
The 25-year-old last won a singles match on tour back in the opening round of the Dubai Tennis Championships in February.
"Extremely smart player" - Alexander Zverev praises Alexander Bublik after Monte-Carlo Masters clash
Speaking after their first-round match at last week's Monte-Carlo Masters, Alexander Zverev praised Alexander Bublik. Zverev, who bagged his first win in three attempts against Bublik, believes that Bublik has strong tactical awareness, calling him an "extremely smart player." Zverev suggested that Bublik completely caught him off guard in the early stages of their match and admitted that he was left clueless at one point.
"I think that tactically he plays extremely well," Alexander Zverev told Tennis Channel after the match. "I came out and he hit 28 drop shots in the first three games. After half an hour, I felt like I didn't know how to play tennis anymore."
"In my opinion, he's an extremely smart player and there's a reason why I hadn't won against him before today. I'm just happy with today's win," he added.
Bublik has had a tough season so far. He lost in the opening rounds of most of his tournaments in 2023. However, he reached the semifinals of the Open 13 in Marseille where he lost to Hubert Hurkacz, and the quarterfinals of an ATP Challenger event in Phoenix, USA.