“I guess, if he’s able to win a Masters, then it’s our fault. All of us,” Alexander Bublik told ATP media before his Vienna campaign, firing a bold shot at the top-ranked pack while reflecting on Valentin Vacherot’s shock Shanghai triumph. That’s Bublik: raw, unfiltered, and unapologetically himself. His emotions often blaze through the tour’s polished surface, from sitting mid-match in Madrid after fuming over a disputed first-serve call to demanding justice when the “out” echo stirred chaos. Officials had to intervene before order returned. Fast-forward to Paris, and the flame still burns; tension peaked in the R32 as Alexander Bublik took a fierce dig at his rival after sending him packing.

Alexander Bublik wasn’t pulling any punches after his fiery victory over French star Corentin Moutet at the Paris Masters. Under the electric glare of the Paris La Défense Arena, the Kazakh maverick dismantled the home favorite 6-3, 7-5 in a match laced with tension, taunts, and theatrics. Moutet had boldly declared before the clash that he would do everything to send Bublik home, but by the end of the night, it was the Frenchman who was left speechless. Bublik sealed the win with swagger, scrawling “on the way home” on the camera lens, a perfectly timed jab that sent fans into a frenzy and headlines into overdrive.

In his post-match interview, the world No. 16 showed no remorse for stirring the pot. Asked how he handled the heat of facing Moutet in front of a partisan crowd, his response was as biting as ever. “Obviously, he spoke too much before the match, you know, he spoke too much, and I just have to punish him, so I had no other option,” he said with an icy smirk. Then came the knockout line: “Well, he said that he will do everything to send me home, so it’s nice that he lives in Paris and it’s not too far with taxi, you know?”

For those familiar with Alexander Bublik, this was no surprise. The Kazakh has made a career out of toeing the line between brilliance and bedlam, a talent as much for chaos as for craft. And his rivalry with Moutet is quickly becoming one of tennis’s most combustible subplots. Their animosity first flared earlier this year at the Phoenix Challenger, when Bublik stormed back from a set down to win their tense quarter-final encounter. What followed was pure theatre, tennis turned street drama.

As the two approached the net for their handshake, the air turned volatile. Bublik, charged up and unfiltered, walked straight toward Moutet and barked, “Ten minutes outside? Let’s go. We have a fight?” Shock rippled through the small crowd. The supervisor rushed in to intervene while the umpire tried to calm the Frenchman. But Bublik wasn’t backing away. “The French kid is speaking and he doesn’t want to fight. Let’s go, we meet in 10 minutes outside,” he continued, fanning the flames before finally being led off the court.

So when fate brought them together again in Paris, the stakes were personal. The local crowd, hungry for revenge on behalf of their man, roared with every Moutet point. But before a single ball was struck, the Frenchman had already thrown verbal jabs of his own. 

“We know he’s very provocative with many players, he likes to mock his opponents. I’m going to stay focused on my game, with the help of the crowd,” he told ATP media. Then came the moral edge: “We’ve had our differences in the past, let’s just say he doesn’t represent the values I stand for as an athlete in his behavior. But well, we’re all different, and that’s important for tennis too. I’m going to come in highly motivated and try to send him packing.”

However, in the aftermath, Moutet tried to downplay the hostility, though his words carried a faint sting. At his post-match press conference, he corrected Bublik’s jab about the taxi ride. “He said I live in Paris, but I actually live in Dubai now,” he quipped, before turning reflective. “Today I tried to focus on myself. I don’t think it was personal. He likes to make fun of players. I don’t know what you expect from me. Some people talk, some people don’t. I guess he’s part of the first category. He loves to verbally clash with people.”

Pressed further, Moutet hinted at deeper frustration, saying, “I don’t like that kind of thing. When things go beyond words, I know how people behave and I know what kind of character he is apart from the character that is shown in the media. So it’s no use talking behind the mic. He’s good enough to do that by himself. I’ll let him do it.” His tone was restrained, but his message was clear. This feud might cool, but it won’t fade.

Meanwhile, Bublik marches on. Into the R16, he now awaits American No. 1 Taylor Fritz for a place in the quarterfinals. And while others seek calm, Bublik thrives in the storm. 

Alexander Bublik snubs Alex Popyrin’s handshake after fiery clash

Under the blinding lights of the Paris Masters, the world No. 16 once again bared his unshakable spirit days ago. With a ruthless mix of precision and control, Alexander Bublik dismantled Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-3 in the opening round, storming into the next stage with an air of authority that only he can summon. The performance was sharp, clinical, and yet, it wasn’t his racket that stole the headlines.

When the final ball struck the court, Bublik didn’t stroll to the net for the traditional handshake. Instead, he turned his back, greeted the umpire, and walked straight toward the crowd. A silent statement: icy, deliberate, and piercingly clear. The reason lay in a moment of friction that cut deeper than a forehand winner. During the match, Popyrin earned a point from a lucky net cord and celebrated it with an emphatic fist pump, no apology, no acknowledgment of fortune.

For Bublik, a player who lives and breathes by emotion and respect, that gesture crossed an invisible line. Later, speaking to Championat, he made no attempt to bury the tension. “He can celebrate and then apologize. I’m not the kind of person who would cling to it, but they apologize for it,” Bublik said, his tone calm yet edged with conviction.

And he didn’t stop there. With his trademark candor, he added, “There is a code, there is some kind of etiquette. If a person does not comply with it, why should I comply with another?” 

Now, as the dust settles and emotions simmer, one question looms large: with Bublik’s fire still burning, is a fierce clash with American Taylor Fritz waiting just around the corner?