WATCH: 'I Don't Give a S**t': Bublik Clashes With Opponent After 'Not Ready' Comment
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Alexander Bublik and Corentin Moutet are two of the sport's most mercurial players, so it was not overly surprising to see them clash at the 2025 Arizona Tennis Classic.
Bublik's loss in the opening round of the 2025 Indian Wells Open led him to decide to compete in Phoenix, an ATP Challenger 175 tournament held during the second week of the event in Indian Wells.
The Kazakhstani was among several high-profile players to feature at the Phoenix Challenger. He set up a meeting with Moutet in the quarterfinal after beating Aleksandar Vukic and Rinky Hijikata in the opening two rounds.
Moutet took the opening set 6-2 before Bublik responded by winning the second on a tiebreak. Bublik took the lead a few times in the decider, but got pegged back by the Frenchman, who was in no mood to give up.
After breaking again at 5-5, Bublik had a chance to serve for the match. The moments before that game are what led to a tense interaction between the two that went viral on social media.
Despite Bublik being ready to serve, Moutet was not in place yet. After getting himself into the correct position, he put his hand up and delayed his opponent even more in what looked like a deliberate act to disrupt Bublik.
Moutet then told the 2024 Montpellier Open champion that he was not ready yet, probably trying to wind up Bublik even more. The 27-year-old's response to Moutet left many of the fans watching in stitches.
Bublik told the Frenchman, "I don't give a s**t," in response to his stalling. That drew laughter from several crowd members in a combination of amusement and shock about how blunt the Kazakhstani was.
The match ended when Bublik successfully served out a 2-6, 7-6, 7-5 success. However, the friction between the pair was only getting started. Moutet, who is especially known for getting into rows with players, exchanged heated words with his victorious opponent.
Bublik did not hold back in response, and the pair got into a prolonged argument for about 90 seconds. The umpire hopped down to separate them in case things got entirely out of hand.
Another match official then joined to help the umpire keep them separate when the row between them did not stop. Unfortunately, the music played obscured what they were saying to each other.
Bublik's win probably felt even better after he found Moutet's actions irritating. He will almost certainly not be the last player to find himself in that position against the Frenchman, who loves getting under his opponent's skin.
That incident was one of two heated moments that occurred on that day. Iga Swiatek drew boos from the fans during her Indian Wells Open semifinal against Mirra Andreeva after almost hitting a ball kid when she slammed a ball away in frustration.
That came in the third set of the match that Andreeva eventually won 7-6, 1-6, 6-3. It set up a meeting in the final against the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who destroyed Madison Keys 6-0, 6-1 in their semifinal.
