Alexander Bublik caused a big shock at the French Open after beating fifth seed Jack Draper.
Bublik came from a set down to beat Draper to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
This was a big victory for the world number 60, as Draper was one of the French Open favourites after a breakout year in 2025.
Not only is this a historic moment for Bublik, but he is also the first man representing Kazakhstan to reach a Grand Slam quarter-final.
Alexander Bublik says what happened for the first time after beating Jack Draper
After Bublik beat Draper, 5-7 6-3 6-2 6-4, he was visibly very emotional on Court Suzanne-Lenglen and that continued into his post-match interview.
This was something he was asked about when speaking on the TNT Sports desk, and Bublik revealed that it was the first time that he has felt emotional after a tennis match.
“You know as an athlete you look for these matches and you never know when it is going to happen,” said Bublik. You never know when you are going to win the tournament or make where I will make. It is the first time that I have made a quarter-final.
“I have never got emotional. This is the thing, I have never been emotional in my career. But that specific match at the end. I don’t know why, but this is life. Sometimes you don’t expect that but I am an honest person so let it out!”
Alexander Bublik explains how he felt when serving for the match against Jack Draper
While Bublik has suffered a fall down the rankings over the past year, he has won four ATP singles titles and has been ranked as high as world number 17.
The 27-year-old is also a former French Open doubles finalist, and actually failed to serve for the title in that match back in 2021.
This is something that Bublik revealed he was thinking about when attempting to serve out the match against Draper in a very back-and-forth game.
“I don’t know to be honest,” said Bublik. “When I broke him in the fourth set, the first game, and it was going smoothly on my serve.
“And then when I was serving it out it was 15-40 and I had a feeling that sometimes I have won a couple of tournaments in my life and sometimes you have a feeling this is the only chance you have.
“I was serving 6-4, 5-4 when I was in the finals of doubles here and I did not serve it out. We lost and I had the same feeling now. That if I lose this break it would be 7-5, 6-2 max. This is how I feel.
“So I said okay I have to be there and go for it and if it goes it goes and if not, thank you very much, Sascha. Fourth round.”
Bublik will now face an even tougher test in his quarter-final match, as he takes on the resurgent world number one Jannik Sinner.
This will be a fifth meeting between the pair, with Sinner leading their head-to-head after winning three of their four previous matches.
