APTOS — Alexander Bublik was barefoot, shirtless and dripping wet as he walked from the pool at the Seascape Sports Club to center court. The dozens of remaining spectators watched as the wiry 6-foot-4 up-and-coming star from Kazakhstan wove through the scattered crowds and down on to the court in search of a towel. Most of them couldn’t help but to scratch their heads in confusion.
“What is he doing?” someone mumbled from the crowd.
Simple.
“I’m having fun,” said Bublik, who goes by Sasha. “That’s my way of playing.”
Bublik had plenty of fun both on the court and off of it at the 30th annual Nordic Naturals Challenger on Sunday. The 20-year-old captured his second Challenger singles title of the year, beating crowd favorite Liam Broady, 6-2, 6-3, and then hopped into the pool fully clothed minutes after.
Bublik, who won $14,400 for his efforts, said the pool-hopping tradition began earlier this year in Mexico at the Morelos Open after capturing his first-ever Challenger title.
“I had to keep it going,” said Bublik, who is now ranked No. 104 in the world.
It was one of a few quirky moments Bublik shared with the hundreds in attendance. He drew chuckles from the stands after pausing the match because of a crying baby in the distance, juggled the tennis ball with his feet like a soccer ball between points and playfully teased Broady during the closing ceremonies because of his British accent.
“It’s a game,” Bublik said. “Of course it’s a great sport and you need to work hard for it but it’s all a game and you need to enjoy every moment of it.”
Bublik was lighthearted and goofy but also locked in and, at times, dominant, as he finished off arguably his best week of tennis this year with an emphatic victory.
Pairing his overpowering serve with a deadly drop shot off a forehand slice, Bublik dictated the pace of the match early on and never allowed Broady to find his game. It also didn’t help that Broady uncharacteristically made 20 unforced errors.
“Sasha played really good today,” said Broady, who is ranked No. 256 in the world. “He’s obviously got a fantastic serve, which in finals and big moments really helps. I don’t think I served as well as I have been in the week. I was a bit nervous but that doesn’t usually stop me from playing well. That was more Sasha’s fault, today, that I didn’t play very well.”
Broady, who earned $8,480 for reaching the final, was making his third straight appearance in Aptos this year and was treated like a native in the coastal town. Cheers rained down on the 23-year-old lefty from England at the start of the second set but Bublik kept his stranglehold on the match by jumping out to a 3-0 lead.
Broady, however, battled back into the set by taking back-to-back games, belting out a loud “c’mon!” with each win. But there was no stopping Bublik, who thrice double-faulted on match point before clinching the title with his fifth blistering ace of the afternoon.
“I was very confident today from the beginning of the play,” said Bublik, who will play in the upcoming U.S. Open in New York. “I felt like, ‘OK, if I play well I think I can win this match.’”
It was Broady’s seventh match in the last nine days after starting the tournament as a qualifier. The hard-swinging lefty said fatigue started to settle in during the quarterfinal round but added that it is part of the game.
“I was just a little sluggish — just one or two percent,” Broady said. “I would’ve loved to come out here fresh as a daisy but I don’t think that in the finals anyone’s going to be completely fresh. I gave it the best I could with the situation and he was too good on the day anyway.”
In doubles, the No. 3 seeded team of Jonathan Erlich and Neal Skupski bested No. 4 seed Alex Bolt and Jordan Thompson.
The champions took home $6,200, while the runners-up won $3,600.
