“Everybody is like robots” – Bublik on dealing with burnout

Alexander Bublik had a dip in form and in the rankings after reaching his career high of world No 17 last May – but hopes he is now turning it around.

Although currently 76th in the ATP rankings, he won in Turin last month and is now into the Roland-Garros fourth round having beaten Henrique Rocha 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 – and told journalists in his post-match press conference about the journey he has been on over the last 12 months.

He revealed it was not a lack of effort that meant he fell away from his rankings peak, more the opposite – he was trying too hard.

“If you ask me now what I would suggest to myself back in Wimbledon 2024, I would suggest to take some weeks off, you know, because I got to the 17 in the world, which was a big thing for me. You know, I never thought I could make it to the top 20. I made it to 17.

“Then, you know, I’m like, ‘Okay, I have to do this and that, I have to practise harder. I mean, work on my diet, stop drinking, stop partying. Have to be a more professional soldier, I would say, as we are in a game.’ Like right now, everybody is like robots, and they’re just crazy, crazy performance guys.

“Then I did it. Unfortunately, to be honest, unfortunately my fall was not linked with lack of attitude and lack of practising. It was the exact opposite. I just burned out because I was waiting for the results to come.

“So I’m [world No] 17. I was looking at, you know, like points, a race thing. So I was like, ‘Okay, if I do this, this, and that, which I’m capable of, if I practise more, if I hit better forehands, it will come.’ It didn’t, and then I got to the point, like, ‘Okay, why am I sacrificing so much? For what?'”

Bublik: I had no time to joke around

By February this year he was outside the Top 50, and the next month, he was outside the Top 80, which gave him pause for thought.

“I dropped out of the top 50 for the first time probably in my life. Since six years was there, and then I had a drop. I was on a losing streak, and then I have basically an option to take it a bit seriously in a way. I went to lower-ranked, lower tournaments. I played a few Challengers. I played actually two Challengers in between the Masters, and I have no time to joke around there.

“I came there to win, and I did a final and a win in Turin. Then I have to take matches more seriously, and I did. It’s as simple as that. I just took matches way more seriously, because I can’t see myself out Top 100 and not being able to play the tournaments I like to play, because I still have courage to play tennis.

“That’s why. I guess there was just a shift in the mentality because I had no options whatsoever. Then, yeah, just stick in, and I was lucky enough to win a lot of matches.”

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