ROLAND GARROS

June 2, 2025

Alexander Bublik

Press Conference

A. BUBLIK/J. Draper

5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Congrats. That was one great win for you. Can you walk us through the match? What do you think was the key tonight?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: I don't know, to be honest. I left it all out there. You know, I have certain skill set to play tennis, and it worked marvelously today. 100% one of the best days of my life and one of the best matches I have ever played in my life. That was as simple as that.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Congratulations. To put it simply, do you get nervous on a tennis court? Because it doesn't look like you do.

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: You know, sometimes I feel like there are a certain of amount of matches I have played in my life, for example, the Halle title that I won, the Roland Garros in doubles that I didn't, and today's match, you know, sometimes I have a feeling like there is only one chance. If I would get broken, 7-5, 6-2 maximum for me. I would not even try to fight.

So I told myself, you have this chance, you do your best. If it doesn't work, I'm out. In certain moments I do believe there is only one chance.

So in that regard, I had simply no other, you know, source. I have to win. So I did my best and it worked well. But as I said, if it wouldn't, then it's over.

So that's how I approach it, and that's why I played full and I played high risk, because that was the only chance.

Q. You've won more matches this season on clay than the three previous years combined. What do you think changed? Is it more mental thing or game plan changed?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: Maybe this is the first year I haven't complained about playing on clay, as I don't have a lot of options because I was dropping a lot in the rankings. Yeah, I guess that's the key.

Q. You have spoken about, you know, the fact you're not going to be like every other player and push yourself to the absolute limits. Does today kind of vindicate that, or does it make you hungry to push yourself further because you may get more moments like today?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: The good thing about this question is you mentioned that you might get. Will I put my life and health on the line to have a "might"? Maybe? No.

But I will continue my path. I will work my way, because I still practice, guys. Don't worry, I'm not hitting 30 minutes a day. I still do the exact minimum and maximum at the same time in order to be the player I am, to be in the position I am, and I will continue with this path, because I think I prioritize tennis and the life in equal ways.

So for me it's a 50/50 relationship. So it's not like tennis takes 90, and then it's okay. If I can't walk at the age of 40, it's okay. No, it's not.

So for me it's finding the balance. It's doing necessarily what I have to do in order to be able to compete against the top of the game, which I showcased every season I played in the past six, seven years, but will I put my health on the line? No.

Q. Do you think I'm so glad that I have this kind of work/life balance, because I look at others, and they don't?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: I didn't get the first part.

Q. Do you think I'm glad I have this work/life balance, because you look at others and they don't, and they don't look like they're loving it?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: You have to ask them. They have to give you this answer. If they don't, I cannot say on someone else's behalf if they don't or they do.

So, for me, I'm talking about myself, that's how I see and that's how I approach life, so for me, that's important.

Q. There is a lot of talk in the sport that celebrates hard work all the time. Nadal maybe especially celebrates suffering and hard work, how you get rewarded for putting in hard work, that sort of message, passing on to people and to kids and stuff. What do you hope is the message of your success in this sport?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: There is no way around hard work. Don't get me wrong. I work hard, but on my terms, you know. I do what I'm capable of doing with my body, but I will not push through a knee injury in order to have, you know, a certain chance to win a certain match. So for me, there is no way around hard work. I have been working very hard, and I do work very hard.

But as I said, I prioritize the health and my lifestyle, as well, because I have a family and I'm a father, and I have to do the father duties. This goes a 50/50 balance. Sometimes it didn't work; sometimes it worked marvelously when I was top 20. But for me and for the kids, if we are talking about, there is no way around hard work.

You have to put hours and hours, and for certain players, in order to hit a serve I'm hitting, you require 100,000 hours, and for someone you require 20. So that's the main difference, about your skill set, about what you're capable of, and how can you be, let's say, a top 50.

A top 50 is good mark. How can you be a top-50 player? What do you have to do for that? So that's important.

Q. Do you think that your winning today, though, can show people that having some sort of moderation can actually be a key to success? You don't burn out, don't go too far?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: Even I burn out. So for me, the very important thing, as I said, you have to find your own balance. If you're ready to put your body on the line and you won a slam, for example, when you do that, do it. It's your health. There is choices you make every day, and these choices lead you to something.

I think every person has to decide. Every athlete needs to decide if the sacrifices he's making to have a phantom chance of, if we're talking about younger generation, to have a phantom chance to be with us, is it worth it? Go for it.

But don't complain if it's not, because there is a lot of things above the hard work in order to be a top-50 player, a top-100 player. So that's the approach. For everyone it's different.

Q. In your journey, in your career, if you had to say what you are most satisfied with what has given you the most pride, what would that be?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: I'm not, like, a proud person. I don't take my results as a, you know, a pride and I'm proud of myself of doing some things.

I think tennis is the game that I chose to play, that I worked hard in order to be sitting here in front of you guys and winning titles and making great results. But there is no, like -- like, I couldn't name you one thing that would make me proud at the moment.

Q. What gives you satisfaction? Maybe a better way to put it.

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: The sport itself, I guess. The balance that I have, the moments like today. The moments like I had in the past, and also the tough moments, because without tough moments wouldn't be the happy ones.

For me, it's all part of life. It's all part of the journey I have, you know, the destiny I have. So if it's like this, I enjoy it. If it's not, I have to find another way.

Q. That last game was obviously incredibly intense in the match, saving breakpoints and then eventually clinching the match. In that moment, what did it feel like? Was that the most, to use the word "satisfying," the most satisfying moment you have had on a tennis court?

ALEXANDER BUBLIK: Yes, indeed. This win I mark as one of, if not "the" best, but one of, for sure, yes.