Raging tennis star smashes up racket – before destroying his back-ups too
Tennis player Alexander Bublik unleashed hell on his rackets during the final set of his clash at the Open Sud de France on Wednesday.
The Russian-Kazakhstani, who reached the third round of Wimbledon last year, went ballistic during the final set tie-break decider against home hero Gregoire Barrere. And his outburst saw not one, now two, but three of his prized rackets left in ruins.
Bublik, 25, had taken the first set but missed chances to seal the match in the second set tie-break, losing it 14-12. And when the third set also reached that stage, he serves three double faults en route to going 6-0 down.
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But before the change of ends, the world No 50 went mad, slamming his racket onto the concrete five times before he was satisfied it was well and truly wrecked. As he headed for his spares, the commentator quipped: “the good news is he’s got plenty of other rackets."
The comment proved premature, as Rublek duly smashed another to bits, with the co-commentator adding it “got the treatment as well.” Not done there, a third racket was repeatedly hammered against the ground as the crowd booed, with the pundit adding “well this is getting out of hand now. I think that gives us a little indication of where is mindset is now."
Twitter influencer Roger Sherman posted a video clip of the saga, and poked fun at the commentary: "The comic timing of 'the good news is he's got plenty of other rackets' is off the chart, he tweeted, before adding: "'I think that gives us a little indication of where his mindset is at right now' is also incredible, commentator of the year."
Should Bublic be made to fork out for his new rackets? Let us know in the comments section below
Tennis fans were not impressed, with @yf3787 replying: "How did get just a 'warning' after smashing THREE racquets? Meanwhile when Serena was playing… nvm," while @davidfoxjr argued: "They should start awarding games to the opponent in these situations."
Briefly, the tantrum seemed to serve him well, as he returned to the court and duly won the next three points. He soon succumbed to the inevitable though, and there were no further shows of anger after his 6-4 6-7 (12-14) 7-6 (7-3) defeat was confirmed.
Bublek reached as high as No 30 in the rankings a year ago, but has struggled for form since the turn of the year. In 2016, he controversially switched allegiance to represent Kazakhstan, saying: "As hurtful as it may sound, nobody cared about me in Russia. And now people care about me. And they do everything for my career to be successful. That's the most important thing!"
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