Alexander Bublik raised eyebrows when he chose not to shake hands with Alexei Popyrin at the Paris Masters. The No. 13 seed sealed a routine 6-4 6-3 victory over the Australian in the first round on Monday, and then walked straight to the umpire’s chair instead of meeting his opponent at the net.
Fans were baffled as Bublik ignored Popyrin and decided not to meet him at the net, as there was no apparent conflict during the match. But one moment might have encouraged the Kazakh against shaking hands.
Bublik led by an early break in the second set but found himself facing break points at 2-0. Popyrin won a thrilling exchange, hitting two lucky net cords during the rally to break, and didn’t apologise.
Although it’s not required, players often raise their hands in apology when their ball clips the top of the net and manages to go over. But Popyrin was so delighted that he managed to get back on serve, he simply pumped his fist in celebration.
It didn’t take long for Bublik to regain his advantage, however, and he broke again to lead 4-2 before serving out the match in an hour and 14 minutes. He then shook hands with the umpire and packed his belongings as Popyrin left the court.
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