“I wouldn’t change a thing”: Alexander Bublik explains his late rise into the top 10

Alexander Bublik made his debut in Melbourne as a top-10 player, and he has done so in impressive fashion. The world No. 10 came through the opening rounds of the Australian Open with two straight-sets victories, against opponents who were far from easy, such as Jenson Brooksby (6-4, 6-4, 6-4) and Márton Fucsovics (7-5, 6-4, 7-5).

So far, the Kazakh has faced no major setbacks and is already enjoying the best Australian Open run of his career. In his seven previous appearances at the tournament, he had reached the second round only three times and had never advanced to the third round.

The 28-year-old has now settled comfortably inside the top 10 and could continue climbing the rankings if he manages to pick up at least a couple more wins. The Kazakh — who has experienced a resurgence in his career over the past year — was long considered one of the Tour’s great talents from the very beginning, but he struggled to make the jump to the elite. For many years, he hovered around the top 50 or even the top 30, without truly making an impact at the highest level.

Asked in his press conference whether he feels he wasted some years of his career, considering he only reached the top 10 for the first time after turning 28, Bublik was clear in his response. “No, because I think you can’t really push someone to change unless you’re going to break the person,” he said. “Maybe results will come, but you may break a person. We all say you should learn from others’ mistakes, but I think we actually learn from our own mistakes. ”

“I’ve been on tour eight straight seasons in the top 50, top 100 already in 2017. It’s been a long way. People were telling me things, but it doesn’t click. It has to be your own choice. I used to eat junk food, drink a lot of Coca-Cola, and now I don’t. That’s my choice. Same with mentality. I like staying in rhythm, sleeping well, being with my family instead of going out.”

“I knew I wasn’t capable of being a stable top-20 player with that lifestyle. I was always around 30–35, and I knew it. I accepted it. I had my family, I was happy, I was still top 50, making finals, winning titles sometimes. Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen in five years. Maybe I’ll be more locked in, maybe less. Sometimes I don’t even want to come to tournaments because I want to be home. That’s natural. Learning from your own mistakes is important. Not breaking yourself because someone tells you this is the right way. At the end, it’s nice if you succeed — but what if you don’t? I respect people who make their own decisions.”

His next challenge will come against Argentina’s Tomás Martín Etcheverry, who reached the third round of the Australian Open for the second time in his career. The South American is aiming to return to the second week of a Grand Slam — something he has achieved only once before, at Roland Garros 2023 — after solid wins over Miomir Kecmanović and Arthur Fery.

On the other hand, Bublik is already enjoying his best-ever campaign at the Australian Open and will be looking to reach the second week of a major once again, after having achieved that milestone in 2024 at Roland Garros and the US Open.