Alexander Bublik will not defend his Hangzhou title (23-29 September), won last year against Valentin Royer 7-6(4), 7-6(4). Instead he’ll play his first Laver Cup, from 25 to 27 September in London, in Andre Agassi’s Team World, alongside Taylor Fritz, Alex de Minaur, Brandon Nakashima, Learner Tien and Francisco Cerundolo.
The world number 21 hasn’t always held this competition close to his heart. He used to call it an exhibition, pointing to the absence of ATP ranking points. In an interview with CLAY during Wimbledon, published on Tuesday, Bublik made his mea culpa: “Maybe when I said it was an exhibition, I had a different mindset because I hadn’t played the Laver Cup yet. Today, I’m no longer sure it’s an exhibition.”
He also described how the virtual locker-room atmosphere had already formed before the first practice session: “When my participation was announced, players from my team were already messaging me, saying: ‘Hey, should we do this?’ There was already tactics going on. I think it’s a genuine team competition, just without ranking points. That’s the difference.”
Players messaging each other before the first practice session to sort out the patterns? I know that one. My team’s had a group chat since September just for the club league doubles order. The only difference is they’ve got Agassi in their group, and we’ve got the woman who runs the bubble booking schedule.
Still, the comparison has its limits. Bublik plays an invitation-only event in London, one he now insists is a genuine team competition rather than an exhibition. The club player, meanwhile, plays on Sunday at ten in the morning on court 4, under a flickering neon light, with a cone of chips as her match prize. Prestige, she said, “is also decided at the clubhouse bar.”
It’s true, we checked: Tennis Actu.
