WATCH: Bublik Mocks Opponent's Loud Grunt During Madrid Open Clash

Monday, 29 April 2024 at 03:00

byZachary Wimer

Alexander Bublik is known to be quite unserious at times, even on a tennis court, and sometimes, it produces interesting moments, like at the 2024 Madrid Open.

In his first match at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in the Spanish capital, the Kazakhstani was taking on native player Roberto Carballes Baena, who is vocal when he plays.

It's not unique to him or any other player because some are vocal, some are silent, without much explanation as to why some players are known for grunting, while others are able to stay silent during the rallies.

Most players are used to it by the time they get to the pros, but occasionally, some will take issue with it. Coco Gauff notably took issue with her opponent's sound-making at the 2022 Roland Garros when she faced Martina Trevisan.

There were other spats at times, but Bublik approached his annoyance in his own style. He didn't really complain about it but simply copied his opponent's grunts. He started to create a sound similar to his opponent even when it didn't really make sense, such as when playing drop shots, strokes that don't require much power.

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Funnily, it seemingly worked because his opponent stopped grunting in a few rallies, and even the crowd realized what was going on. In the clips that can be seen below, Bublik essentially mocks his opponent for the way he grunts during rallies.

The crowd also got a nice chuckle out of it, and ultimately, it was Bublik who got the chuckle because he won the match. Carballes Baena took the opening set 6-1, but Bublik stormed back to win the other two, winning the match 1-6, 6-2, 6-2, while avoiding a few serves from his opponent, who also tried to hit him during the match, and will now face Ben Shelton.