The match between Alexander Bublik and Roberto Carballes Baena at the 2024 Madrid Open was really heated because of multiple reasons.
Bublik, as most tennis fans will be aware, is no stranger to being authentic on a tennis court. Whether it’s smashing multiple racquets in Montpellier or whether it’s hitting the ball with a tennis racket handle, it’s just never boring when he’s on the courts.
He’s quite a unique character, though he’s toned it down recently, taking things more seriously. His on-court behavior is not as dramatic as it used to be—at least, it wasn’t until this Madrid Open match against Carballes Baena.
Playing a Spanish player on Spanish soil will never be easy. The crowd is generally fired up and supports their player, but the Kazakhstani player won them throughout the match.
It was because he did all the things he does well, which is hard to ignore. First, Bublik mocked his opponent’s overly exaggerated grunt, which even got the crowd to chuckle a few times.
Then, he turned around the match, coming back from losing the first set 1-6, to win the following two sets 6-2, 6-2, and win the match, which was likely the most painful thing for Carballes Baena, and he was quite furious about it.
At the end of the match, Carballes Baena seemed to want to relieve Bublik’s frustration directly by hitting two really strong serves close to his body, clearly targeting his opponent, as both were so far out, it would have been impossible to miss them by so much without another intent.
They came shortly after the Kazakhstani player played a front-facing tweener. Still, the Spaniard didn’t hit Bublik, but the Kazakhstani player seemingly understood what was happening and smiled at his opponent.
In the end, the match did not end with any incident, but it was a pretty wild match with a lot of interesting moments. Bublik will now look ahead to his next match against Ben Shelton.
