"It felt like it was his day," Sabalenka reflects on Bublik's win over Draper

This Wednesday, Alexander Bublik faces an uphill battle. In the Roland-Garros quarterfinals, the Kazakh—this year's surprise contender at this stage—must take on the biggest challenge of his career against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

The world No. 62, who is set to play his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, earned his spot with a standout victory over world No. 5 Jack Draper in the previous round, driving the Brit to frustration with a barrage of drop shots (36 in total).

After securing her spot in the Paris Grand Slam semifinals at the expense of Zheng Qinwen on Tuesday afternoon, Aryna Sabalenka was asked about Bublik's performance during her press conference.

"I have to say the drop shot is a risky move. You really need great hands and solid court awareness to pull it off. It’s true that WTA players use it less, but not everyone is as fearless as Bublik.

I watched his match, and it felt like it was his day. I’m not sure he goes for that many drop shots in every match, but if he plays like he did against Draper every time, he’d probably be in the top 10.

It was an insane match, and honestly, I wish there had been a fifth set. In the fourth, I was rooting for Draper because Bublik was doing something crazy on the court.

It was like everything he tried in that match worked—everything landed in. He even went for drop shots on return of serve. That’s a risky shot. But if you feel like it’s one of those days where everything clicks, you have to go all in.

It’s an interesting shot to use, especially on clay if you’re a powerful player—it helps mix things up and catch your opponent off guard. On the women’s tour, maybe we should use the drop shot more often.

But not everyone has hands as good as Bublik’s. The girls are trying more and more to vary their game, to switch up the rhythm more than before. We’re improving in that aspect of the game," Sabalenka elaborated to *The Tennis Letter*.