WATCH: Alexander Bublik destroys yet another racket, hands souvenir to young fan
It is difficult to keep track of the number of racket smashes that Alexander Bublik goes through each match, but like clockwork he delivered another anger-filled moment at the Italian Open.
The world No 49 took on Pedro Martinez in the opening round of the ATP Masters 1,000 event in Rome on Wednesday and produced an impressive display as he beat the Spaniard 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) in one hour and 46 minutes.
However, as per usual his frustrations got the better of him midway during the match and he decided to take it all out his racket.
We can confirm that no one does destroys a racket better than Bublik as, while other players will hit the racket one or two times before calming down, the Kazakh star only ends the cameo when the racket is obliterated.
Of course those in the stands at Foro Italico were unimpressed and booed, but the 25-year-old calmly walked over to the spectators and handed the broken racket to a young fan. The delighted youngster was quick to show off his new souvenir.
Bublik – who will take on 28th seeded American Ben Shelton in the second round with the winner likely to face fourth seed Casper Ruud – is no stranger to destroying rackets, but he has to fork out money every time he breaks a racket.
A recent Twitter thread revealed that “Yonex began to put clauses in several of the contracts with its players to charge them a fee for each racket they break in matches”.
And it was confirmed by three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka as the Swiss replied: “Yonex will send him a small invoice too 😉”
He smashed three rackets during his third-round exit from the Open Sud de France in February while at the Rotterdam Open he made it clear that he is not much of a tennis fan.
“I’m complaining how stupid this f****** sport is, because it is f******* stupid. Playing tennis is a headache,” he shouted at the chair umpire.
Wednesday’s victory was only Bublik’s sixth of the 2023 season and his second in five ATP Masters 1000 tournaments this year. It was also his second win on clay this year with his other win coming against Daniel Galan at the Madrid Open.
His highlight so far in 2023 came at the Open 13 where he reached the semi-final, losing against Hubert Hurkacz.
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