Bublik Defeats Draper and Reaches First Grand Slam Quarterfinal
Alexander Bublik and Jack Draper were both aiming for their first Roland-Garros quarterfinal.
Having pulled off a surprising run in Paris, Bublik notably upset Alex De Minaur in the second round. Facing Draper, the world No. 5, the Kazakh dropped the first set on the only break point he conceded on his serve.
But he then outmaneuvered the Brit, ultimately dominating the next three sets with 68 winners and an 81% first-serve points won rate to secure a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 victory in 2 hours and 34 minutes.
Emotional after match point, he reached his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal—on his least favorite surface.
Ranked 62nd this week, he will return to the Top 50 after the tournament, climbing to 49th in the live rankings. Bublik now awaits the winner between Jannik Sinner and Andrey Rublev to see who will join him in the quarterfinals.
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