Alexander Bublik made a surprising admission about the Laver Cup after losing both of his doubles matches at the O2 Arena. The 29-year-old, representing Team World, said he cared more about winning at the Laver Cup than winning a Grand Slam quarter-final.
Two straight-sets defeats
Bublik teamed up with Taylor Fritz against Carlos Alcaraz and Jakub Mensik on Friday evening, losing in straight sets. A day later he partnered Brandon Nakashima against Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, with the same result.
Team Europe went on to regain the Laver Cup, with Zverev's singles victory over Learner Tien on Sunday completing a 13-5 success.
'I never cared more than winning this one'
Speaking after the tournament, Bublik said: "Well, definitely was a crazy experience for me. I always watched Laver Cup, you know, for the past editions.
"I always thought this was more like a fun even, an exhibition, but when I get here, to be honest with you, I never cared more than winning this one. I never cared as much in a quarterfinal of a slam than the doubles that I played yesterday, to be honest.
"That's true, and I think it was a great experience for me being next to Andre [Agassi] and Pat [Rafter], being next to the colleagues that I play all the time together, being in the same team, supporting each other, so it was hell of experience for me."
Jokes and coaching from Agassi
Known for his showmanship, Bublik joked before the start of the Laver Cup that he was ready to unsettle Team Europe with underhanded tactics.
"I signed certain papers between Pat and Andre to never underarm serve here, not to smile after points, so it's really strict for me here," he laughed. "I just came here to bring the good tennis and bring some laughs in. As Taylor [Fritz] said in our group chat, I'm the trash-talk guy, so I'm just talking to Team Europe in case something is off."
Bublik also thanked team captain Agassi for a special coaching session during his maiden Laver Cup appearance. "He gave me a lot of advice," he added. "I was having a long, long practice session with him. It's great to listen to champions, what they think about your game, what they think your ceiling is, where you can improve.
"It's a very unique experience as a tennis player to be coached by someone you would otherwise never get to. I think that's really interesting. You learn a lot from it. I think he wants to bring the best out of us. That's what great captains do, what great people do. That's the champion mindset he used to win a lot of Slams with. It's definitely going to help us."
