Can someone please take Alexander Bublik back to the good old days?
The Kazakhstani delivered indirect praise of Jakub Mensik in typically humorous fashion on Tuesday during a conversation with chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani at the Mutua Madrid Open. During his fourth-round match against Mensik, which the #NextGenATP Czech ultimately won 6-3, 6-2, Bublik turned to Lahyani during a changeover.
“Mohamed, remember when tennis was easy? Like five years ago it was super easy to play tennis,” said the four-time ATP Tour champion Bublik. “A bunch of random people in the Top 50, barely moving. Now this guy is not even Top 5, not even Top 10. What is that?”
Tuesday’s straight-sets victory at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid was the latest impressive performance in a breakout 2025 for Mensik. The 19-year-old defeated Novak Djokovic to lift his maiden tour-level title in March in Miami, and he is now up to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. If you ask Bublik, he should already be in the Top 10 at the very least.
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