Bublik hits the winner with the handle, destroying the frame in the Indian Wells loss
Alexander Bublik used all parts of the racket at the BNP Paribas Open on Monday afternoon, with varying degrees of success.
Early in the third set of his third round match against Rinky Hijikata, Bublik hit a forehand winner. That’s right – with a handle. It wasn’t a heavy shot, of course. The 10th-ranked Kazakh did what should have been a routine, nondescript set aside with a well-placed front shot. Bublik then responded to Hijikata’s short answer with an unusual – but unprecedented for him – shot selection.
It was not the first time in this match that Bublik made noise with his racket.
After the second loss in the wrecking ball game, the 28-year-old smashed his frame five times – smashing everything into smithereens.
Bublik ended up losing 6-7 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-3.
