The curtains came down at the Rolex Paris Masters quarterfinal. In the first quarterfinal, it was Felix Auger-Aliassime who pulled off a dominant victory against a rampaging Valentine Vacherot. And now, it was time for Alexander Bublik to show his dominance against a quality opponent in Alex De Minaur. As the match ended, it was the Kazakh athlete who had the last laugh. And what’s more, he is now also dreaming of a potential place at the ATP Finals.

Heading into the game, Bublik was seeded 13th and De Minaur 6th. Nonetheless, their clash saw the pendulum swing both ways, with De Minaur taking the first set with a tiebreak. It was, however, Bublik who had the last laugh, winning the next two sets 6-7(5), 6-4, and 7-5 to reach the semifinals. Naturally, he was asked about the prospect of facing off against an in-form Auger Aliassime and making his ATP Finals dreams come true.

Answering both questions, Bublik sounded focused and confident. As expected, he wanted to prioritize his semifinal without thinking too far. “I can’t make it directly to Turin, but I can make it as an alternate. And he can make it directly if he wins it. It’s gonna be a big match. He’s fighting for his spot, I’m fighting for an alternate. I hope its gonna be a good battle. I hope its gonna be a fair battle and that we show some good tennis,” said Bublik.

Auger Aliassime currently sits in ninth in the Race to Turin rankings. Only 90 points separate him from Lorenzo Musetti in eighth place, meaning that for the Canadian, a win against Bublik would be massive and brings an extra layer of motivation. For Bublik in 11th (the injured Jack Draper is 10th), his 2,870 points mean that even winning Paris wouldn’t book him a direct spot, as Musetti is on 3,685 points.

Thus, Bublik will have to wait as an alternate if someone from the top 8 fails to make it. But even reaching this spot is a testament to Bublik’s efforts this season. At the moment, the 28-year-old is on a 30-7 streak since his French Open quarterfinal. And not only that. He has also won titles in Halle, Gstaad, Kitzbuhel, and Hangzhou. Moreover, Bublik is now the only Kazakh tennis player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, though it didn’t happen without some entertaining drama on the way.

How Alexander Bublik answered Corentin Moutet’s bold claims with dominant win and jab

At the beginning of the year, when Alexander Bublik edged past Corentin Moutet at the Phoenix Challenger, the moment that followed at the net was far from routine. “I’m not ready,” said Moutet as Bublik prepared to serve.”I don’t give a s***,” responded Bublik.

Their post-match ‘cordial handshake’ carried more tension than courtesy. The umpire had to go to the extent of asking Bublik and Moutet to put a pause to their confrontation inside the court and continue with their fight outside. And weeks later, yet again the two met at the court.

Last Wednesday in Paris, Bublik faced Moutet in the Round of 32. However, this time too, the Russian-Kazakhstani star managed to grab the win. And as it seems, the same fiery rivalry is still very much on between the pair. Right after the 6-3, 7-5 triumph, Bublik took a dig at Moutet and boldly shared, “Well obviously he spoke too much before the match. I just have to punish him. So I had no other option.”

Before the match began, Corentin Moutet boldly claimed that he would manage to grab a win and would send Bublik home. Replying to that, after Bublik won the game, he signed the camera and wrote “on the way home”. Adding to that, he unapologetically taunted him by stating, “He said that he will do everything to send me home. It’s nice that he lives in Paris and it’s not too far with the taxi.” With these two stars already giving their best on court, they are also making sure to leave fans on the edge of the seats with their fiery and brutal rivalry.