"I never cared as much in a quarterfinal of a slam" - Alexander Bublik shares how much competing at the Laver Cup meant

Alexander Bublik's maiden venture at the Laver Cup was not the most productive one in terms of results. He played in two doubles matches and a singles contest, losing all three as Team World lost out to a vengeful Team Europe in London.

The Kazakh first featured on the opening day against another debutant in the form of Rafael Jodar. It was always going to be a tough match, and it proved to be too much for Bublik as he fell to the talented youngster 6-2, 6-3.

Later in the day, he played alongside Taylor Fritz in the first doubles match of the event, losing in straight sets against Carlos Alcaraz and Jakub Mensik. His doubles expertise was once again called upon on the second day, but the same result would come. This time alongside Brandon Nakashima, the duo failed to pick up a positive result against Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev, and he was not picked to feature in the third day of action, ultimately lasting just two matches as Team Europe reached the magical 13-point mark.

After disappointment last year, Team Europe once again had the bragging rights over Team World after motoring clear at the end. It was a very disappointing time for Bublik who could not not help his team out, not winning a set in the process.

Bublik had been under scrutiny for his recent comments surrounding exhibitions like the Laver Cup. He has since backtracked on them and seemed to have really been taken in by the competitiveness on display.

While an exhibiiton, he unveiled afterwards of his desire to prevail. "Well, definitely was a crazy experience for me. I always watched Laver Cup, you know, for the past editions," he stated.

He even made a wild comparison between his doubles match and a quarter-final of a Grand Slam tournament. "I always thought this was more like a fun even, an exhibition, but when I get here, to be honest with you, I never cared more than winning this one. I never cared as much in a quarterfinal of a slam than the doubles that I played yesterday, to be honest."

The 29-year-old reached the last-eight at the 2025 Roland Garros before his spectacular run was halted by runner-up Jannik Sinner. While the stakes seem much higher when on the Grand Slam stage, Bublik was not playing for himself at the Laver Cup. He was playing for Team World with his teammates and supporters urging him on.

He was in awe of the high calibre names that were on the team. "That's true, and I think it was a great experience for me being next to Andre [Agassi] and Pat [Rafter], being next to the colleagues that I play all the time together, being in the same team, supporting each other, so it was hell of experience for me."

Especially Agassi, who Bublik singled out after the advice and time spent to get him ready for the Laver Cup. "He gave me a lot of advice," he said. "I was having a long, long practice session with him. It’s great to listen to champions, what they think about your game, what they think your ceiling is, where you can improve.

"It’s a very unique experience as a tennis player to be coached by someone you would otherwise never get to. I think that’s really interesting. You learn a lot from it. I think he wants to bring the best out of us. That’s what great captains do, what great people do. That’s the champion mindset he used to win a lot of Slams with. It’s definitely going to help us."

From London, Bublik will make the trip around the world to Beijing to get his Asian swing underway. He forefitted his title defence at the Hangzhou Open to compete at the Laver Cup, meaning the China Open will be his first competition on Asian soil since the Hong Kong Open title triumph right at the start of the year. He has an extremely tough opening round test in the Chinese capital in the form of Jakub Mensik, with the ATP 500 tournament set to take place from September 30 - October 6.