"Why put such pressure on himself?”: Alexander Bublik recalls Moutet’s pre-match meltdown

Alexander Bublik once again referred to the controversial rivalry with Corentin Moutet, following a second-round clash at the Paris Masters between two strong personalities on the Tour. The local player had ignited the pre-match talk, asserting that Bublik “doesn’t represent the values I stand for as an athlete in his behavior” and that he would “try send him packing.”

The comments did not sit well with Bublik, who ended up taking the victory 6-3, 7-5. The Kazakh repeated his victory from the Phoenix Challenger in March of this year, where they almost came to blows after a heated exchange at the net. “The French kid is speaking and he doesn’t want to fight. Let’s go, we meet in 10 minutes outside,” Bublik said on that occasion in Phoenix.

The Paris match was their first reunion since the incident in Phoenix, both with a very different reality then, when Bublik was World No. 82 (currently 16) and Moutet No. 79 (ascended to No. 32). The win in Paris was just the start of a great campaign for Bublik, who is already installed in the quarter-finals of the tournament. “It's convenient that he lives in Paris, it's not too far by taxi," Bublik stated after the clash in Paris.

While Bublik continues his campaign at the Paris Masters, he once again referred to Moutet, saying he did not understand why the Frenchman put so much pressure on the match by asserting he would send him home. “I never speak that way before a match and I never disrespect any opponent. I can do it during the match if a player misbehaves towards me or acts strangely, I'm not afraid to say what I think.”

“My physio, who speaks French, translated what he had said, and I asked myself: why put such pressure on himself in front of his audience. I didn't understand why he did that, why he put himself in that position, especially since you can lose in front of your fans, which adds extra pressure."

The World No. 16 defeated Alexei Popyrin, Moutet, and 4th seed Taylor Fritz this week – his 14th victory against a top-10 player and 5th of the season. The Kazakh is in the quarter-finals of a Masters 1000 for the third time in his career – the first time since 2021 – and will face Alex de Minaur in search of his first semi-final at a tournament of this category.

The Kazakh is currently No. 13 in the live ranking amidst his campaign in Paris. Should he reach a hypothetical final, he could be situated at No. 11, and only the title could propel him to his first foray into the top-10. Regardless, there is still a long way to go for Bublik in Paris, which is his penultimate tournament of the season.

Next week he will play his final commitment of the year at the Moselle Open in Metz, where he will again have a chance to get closer to the top-10, in what is the best season of his career, with 4 titles added to his list of honors and even a victory against the (at that time) World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. There is also still the possibility that Bublik could reach a spot in the ATP Finals, although for that, only consecutive titles in Paris and Metz would be enough.