Alexander Bublik believes Andy Murray is trying to cling to the past by accepting a role as coach for Novak Djokovic.
Murray, who retired from competitive tennis at last summer’s Paris Olympics, was added to Djokovic’s team last December and will be present at the Australian Open. As it currently stands, the partnership is only set to last until after the first Grand Slam of this year but it could be extended. Earlier this week at the Brisbane International, Djokovic said he is in regular contact with his former rival and is ‘excited‘ to have him in his team.
However, Bublik doesn’t appear to be a fan of the new collaboration after speaking about the matter during a wide-ranging interview with the Russian sports website Match TV. He describes the departure of Murray, as well as Rafael Nadal, from the Tour as a ‘circus.’
“One wants to leave at their peak. Clearly, I’m not Rafa, my legacy will be much smaller, if you can call it that. What happened with Andy Murray and Rafa is a circus. I can’t call it any other way,” said Bublik.
“People achieved everything, even us tennis players looked at them with open mouths in the locker room, and then you see one of them bald and old. It’s clear that he’s not the same and will never be the same. In my opinion, it’s even a disgrace rather than a circus. I guess that’s the right way to put it.
“Now he (Murray) has joined Novak Djokovic’s team. These are attempts to grasp what is no longer there, some echoes of the past. I think it’s a problem. I hope it won’t be like that for me, but I can’t say for sure. Maybe at 36 I will go to the Challenger in Bangkok, but I still hope that I will leave with a calm soul.”
At the start of this season, Djokovic spoke highly about his newest mentor. Praising Murray’s insight into the game.
“He has a unique perspective on my game as one of the greatest rivals I’ve had. He knows the pros and cons of my game,” he said of Murray.
“He played until recently on the tour, so he knows all the other best players currently in the world, the youngsters, and the weaknesses and strengths in their game. I look forward to it, I really do.
“I think he’s bringing a fresh look to my game and I’ll be able to benefit from that, no doubt, on the court. But also that champion mentality he has, I’m sure we’ll match very well.”
One missed test from ban
Another topic Bublik discussed was anti-doping in tennis with the Russian-born Kazakh shedding light on a situation he was in. He said he was in a ‘serious panic’ for a year after missing two anti-doping tests. A player can be suspended from the Tour for missing three within 12 months, which was what happened to Jenson Brooksby who was banned for 18 months.
“Once I didn’t change the address of my house in Monaco to St. Petersburg, and people came to Monaco. You can miss a doping control three times (in a year), and that’s how I got my first,” he said.
“I took it calmly – yes, I made a mistake. Then it happened that on April 20 I entered the tournament in Geneva, which started on May 25. I received a notification that I received a second (missed test) because I did not notify them (doping officers) about participation in the tournament in Geneva. On the application you have to state where you will play and I wasn’t sure I would play in Geneva even though I had applied. They equated it to a full-fledged doping control pass.
“If I had gotten another, I would have been disqualified. I think specifically I would have been disqualified to the fullest extent. I appealed the case in Geneva because we have not yet signed a contract with the tournament, I did not know if I would go and under what conditions.
“During the year I was in a serious panic attack because two absences are a lot. Another one is three years of disqualification and effectively the end of my career.”
Anti-doping in tennis has been highlighted in recent months following the high-profile cases of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek. Sinner twice tested positive for clostebol and Swiatek once for trimetazidine. Both players successfully overturned their provisional suspensions after proving their failed tests were due to contamination. Although WADA is appealing against the ruling made by the ITIA on Sinner, arguing that the finding of “no fault or negligence” was not correct under the applicable rules. Both players went through an extensive process conducted by an independent panel.
“In the cartoon “Kung Fu Panda” Master Oogway said: “Accidents are not accidents.” I will answer this way,” Bublik replied when asked if he believed the failed tests were accidental.
“I think that accidents are not accidental. I can say more proverbs: “There is no smoke without fire”, “A thief’s hat is on fire”. I think so.”
It is not the first time a player has questioned the matter with Nick Kyrgios being another to do so. Something Bublik also has a view on.
“If you take all of Nick’s words, analyze them and draw conclusions, you can go crazy. I probably don’t agree (with everything he has said),” Bublik commented.
Elsewhere in his interview, the 27-year-old estimates that he spends between $300,000 and $400,000 a year on his team and hopes to continue playing for ‘a long time.’ Finally, Bublik says he needs to ‘live a different life’ to give himself a chance to break into the top 10.
Bublik is currently ranked 33rd in the world but has been as high as 17th. He currently has four ATP titles to his name with the three of them being won at 250 events and another at a 500.
Note: Quotes were originally written in Russian and translated via Google/DeepL.com.
