For me, the US Open is like the first tournament of the year," Bublik reflects on his summer break
After his back-to-back titles in Gstaad and then Kitzbühel, Alexander Bublik decided not to play the Toronto and Cincinnati Masters 1000 events so he could return home and recharge his batteries.
In an interview with Clay Tenis, the Kazakh explains that he approaches the US Open as if it were an early-season tournament.
"Everyone talks about my ten consecutive wins, but in reality, I reset everything after my victories in Gstaad and Kitzbühel. For me, the US Open is like the first tournament of the year.
That's how I approached it, because I had never experienced success there before. It was always tough for me, as I never really had a break. I used to skip Cincinnati, and it didn't do me any good.
So I told myself I would use this time to get back in shape, work hard, and rethink the organization of my season.
I guess it helped me, because I missed tennis a bit while I was at home in Russia. I watched Toronto, Cincinnati, Winston-Salem on TV… I watched everything, all the matches that interested me.
I missed tennis, and I was happy to see my colleagues and people again. When I walked into the players' restaurant here at the US Open, they looked at me as if to say: ‘Oh, you decided to play.’
It was nice; for two days, I really enjoyed it. Normally, you get tired of seeing the same faces all the time.
US Open 
