The Kazakh, outspokenly, harshly criticized the retirement methods of both legends and also claimed that doping controls were skipped.
Alexander Bublik is one of those athletes who speaks up when he sees something wrong. Just as anarchic on and off the court, he didn’t hold back in criticizing luminaries like Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray’s retiring techniques, as well as stating that he was not there for some surprise anti-doping checks that organizations conduct at players’ residences.
Instead of a tranquil and relaxed start to the season, Alexander Bublik prefers to make dramatic and contentious declarations. He will compete in the ATP Adelaide this week, but first he gave an interview to Russian media outlet Match TV in which he made claims that are impossible to ignore.
– Murray’s Role in Djokovic’s Team
Andy Murray, according to the Kazakh, is only clinging to the past after retiring from the 2024 Paris Olympics. I believe there is an issue, and I hope the same does not happen to me. Maybe at 36, I’ll play the Bangkok Challenger, but I want to go with a pure mind and soul.” The Brit will be joining Novak Djokovic’s team in the next days to prepare for the 2025 Australian Open.
– Retirement of Nadal and Murray
Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal are two of the finest tennis players in history. Both reached the tennis Olympus for their achievements both on and off the field. However, Bublik considers their retirement “a shame, more than a circus.” They accomplished everything; even we players gazed at them in wonder in the locker room, and now one is bald and old. He isn’t and never will be the same.”
“It’s clear that I’m not Rafa, one wants to leave at their best moment. My legacy will be much smaller, if it can be called that”, said Sascha, ending firmly about Rafa and Andy’s retirement approach: “What happened with Murray and Nadal is a circus, I can’t call it anything else.”
– Skipped Anti-Doping Tests
When asked about the recent doping cases of Jannik Sinner and Iga Swiatek, Bublik said that he skipped two of the three tests that a player can evade before being punished for a year and a half. “I did not tell them of my change of address from Monaco to St. Petersburg, so they went seeking for me in Monaco. That’s how I missed my first test.”
“The second time was different. On April 20 I registered for the ATP Geneva, starting on May 25. I received a notification that I had a second test because I hadn’t informed the officials of my participation in Geneva. I had to report, but I wasn’t sure whether to do it even though I had submitted the application. They equated this to a full anti-doping test pass”. Sascha explained that if he missed another one, the penalty would mean “the end of my career”, so he spent a year “in a state of panic”.
Alexander Bublik’s next match will be at the ATP Adelaide on Tuesday, January 7th, against Serbian player Miomir Kecmanovic.
