Bublik In A Bubble: Tennis Insights

Meet your new comeback King!

We already know Alexander Bublik to be the ultimate entertainer of his generation, but hardly anyone saw him coming from a set down in all matches throughout an entire tournament to win a title. But that’s just one part of what we witnessed last week, so here’s a quick serve of everything that happened. 

But before we get into it, we want our interaction to be more of a two-way conversation. This way, we can respond to your hot takes on the channel. That being said, what are some of your hottest takes for the 2024 tennis season? Let’s have your response (anonymous if you prefer) in the form below.

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“I like to dance in the pressure storm,” said Jannik Sinner and he did live up to his words by winning a maiden grand slam title in the craziest way possible. Not many fans were sure how he achieved that feat, so we decided to indulge you guys on some of the subtle aspects involved in his Australian Open title run.

We also uploaded another video just a couple of hours ago. It’s a recap of the entire post-Australian Open week but a special one because we also talk about what really went wrong with some of the biggest losers of the tournament.

Be sure to check out both videos here. 

What Happened Last Week

The ATP Tour visited Europe for the first time this season with ATP 250 action in Montpellier, while 24 countries competed in the 2024 Davis Cup Qualifiers. On the women’s side, we saw lots of action in Linz and Thailand.

ATP Open Sud de France – Montpellier (29 Jan - 4 Feb)

We saw some of the biggest names in Montpellier. Andy Murray got beaten by Benoît Paire in the first round. It was Paire’s first tour-level win since August 2022. Meanwhile, French veterans Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils also saw disappointing first-round exits. Alexander Bublik would then save match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov. Felix Auger Aliassime took down a stubborn Arthur Cazaux in their round-of-16 clash. Holger Rune would retire in his semifinal clash against Borna Coric while Bublik would take down FAA in 3 sets. Bublik would then recover from a set down to beat Coric in the final and win his 4th ATP title.

Davis Cup Qualifiers (1 Feb - 4 Feb)

These are the results of the first round of qualifiers

Linz Open

Top seed Jelena Ostapenko took down second seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 6-3 in the final to win her second title of the year. In a clash between two former Linz runners-up, 2019 finalist Ostapenko needed just 70 minutes to subdue 2018 finalist Alexandrova and win her eighth career WTA singles title. Ostapenko currently holds an incredible 13-2 win-loss record this year.

Hua Hin (Thailand Open)

Diana Shnaider captured her first title on the WTA Tour after defeating defending champion Zhu Lin 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 in the final of the Thailand Open on Sunday. Unseeded in Hua Hin, Shnaider, 19, beat the top three seeds en route to her maiden title, besting top seed Magda Linette, No.2 seed Zhu and No.3 seed Wang Xiyu. This was particularly amazing seeing that Shnaider went 0-3 across Brisbane, Hobart, and the Australian Open in January. 

The Biggest Movers Of The Week 

ATP

On the Men's side, Alexander Bublik will reach a career-high world no. 23 after winning the title in Montpellier. Felix Auger Aliassime jumps 2 spots up to no. 28 while Borna Coric moves 6 spots up to no. 31.

WTA

On the women’s side, Jelena Ostapenko closes in on the Top 10 with her win in Linz while Ekaterina Alexandrova sees a return to the Top 20. Donna Vekić’s semifinal appearance in Linz sees her move 5 spots up into the Top 30 while the other semifinalist in Linz, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova climbs 8 spots up the ranking. The biggest mover, however, is Diana Shnaider who sees a return to the Top 100, climbing 35 spots up. 

But what tournaments do we have coming up?

Major Tournament Updates 

Dallas Open (5 February - 11 February, 2024)

This event remains the ONLY ATP Tour indoor championship in the United States. As you would expect, most of the Americans will be playing and that includes Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, Christopher Eubanks, and Alex Michelsen. Other seeds include Adrian Mannarino, and Australians Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson.

Open 13 Provence (5 February - 11 February, 2024)

Defending champion Hubert Hurkacz is the top seed in Marseille. Other names in the star-studded draw include Grigor Dimitrov, Karen Khachanov, Andy Murray, Seb Korda, Felix Auger Aliassime, and Lorenzo Musetti.

Cordoba Open (5 February - 11 February, 2024)

Francisco Cerundolo is the top seed in Cordoba, Argentina. He’s joined by defending champion Sebastian Baez, Roberto Carballes Baena, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Bernabe Zapata Miralles, Pedro Cachin, Daniel Altmaier, Yannick Hanfmann, Diego Schwartzman, and Sebastian Ofner

Transylvania Open (5 February - 11 February, 2024)

The event takes place in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. We will be seeing some big names including the likes of Tatjana Maria, Arantxa Rus, Anna Blinkova, and Ana Bogdan. However, most of our attention will be at Abu Dhabi where most of the top players will be participating.

Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (5 February - 11 February, 2024)

The tournament kicks off the Middle East Swing, which will continue on to back-to-back WTA 1000 tournaments in Doha and Dubai. Belinda Bencic, who is the defending champion, having saved match points to defeat Liudmila Samsonova in the final last year, is currently on maternity leave. However, we are still in for a treat as 10 of the WTA's Top 20 will be participating. We will also be seeing the two marquee fan favorites in the draw: Naomi Osaka and Emma Raducanu, both of whom are wild-card entrants. These are the top 8 seeds.

The top storylines will revolve around Elena Rybakina making a rebound, Ostapenko's undeniable top form, and more spotlight for Raducanu and Osaka

More updates to come.

Watch Out For This Player

Jelena Ostapenko

The human thunderbolt has won a trophy in every event she has played in 2024. Seeing Ostapenko’s form and confidence tells you that she could be on her way to having one of her best seasons in recent years.

HOT TAKE

Jannik Sinner will most likely not become world no. 1 in the next 6 months. Why is that?

Through Miami at the end of March, Djokovic will only need to defend 180 points from Dubai, where last year he reached the semi-finals. The 36-year-old did not compete in Indian Wells or Miami in 2023 and has a big opportunity to gain points.

Djokovic doesn’t also have many points to defend until the French Open and one could argue that Sinner’s form on clay won’t be the same as on hard courts. The earliest possible time might be later in the year at best. Do you agree with this take? Anyway, I hope it ages well.

Off The Court

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Gets Engaged

Following a disappointing Australian Open campaign, the 24-year-old Spaniard found some happiness off the court after getting engaged to the love of his life in Rome. 

Trivia Of The Week

Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet saw early-round exits at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier, where they have both lifted the trophy three times. Monfils and Gasquet have played 18 tour-level matches against each other. Any idea who leads in the H2H between the two Frenchmen? 

Gael Monfils leads Richard Gasquet 11-7 and three of their meetings have come in Montpellier. Gasquet prevailed in the second round in 2013 and the 2015 semi-finals, either side of Monfils' victory in the 2014 final.

Highlights of the Week

1. Rune On The Run

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2. Cazaux’s Return Masterclass

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Until next time, keep swinging.

For The Love of Tennis