During the Open Occitanie tournament, tennis player Alexander Bublik surprised everyone by asking a ball boy to play a point for him during his quarterfinal match against Aleksandar Kovacevic.
A video circulating on social media showed Bublik was trailing 3-6, 1-5, with slim chances of making a comeback. In a lighthearted moment, he handed his racket to a ball boy, who played a point for him.
The crowd cheered as Kovacevic’s return hit the net. Known for his entertaining antics on the court, Bublik also hit a series of underarm serves, including three in a row, managing to hold his serve at 4-1 in the first set.
After winning the match 6-3, 6-2, Kovacevic shared his thoughts in the on-court interview:
"I was not expecting to play against the ball kid for a point, but you always know there's going to be something funny with him (Bublik). I mean, I prepared for that. You know, it's not the first time he's having fun out here. It's not a bad thing. It's fun for the fans also. But for me, obviously, and for any opponent that he has, it's important to stay locked in and focus."
With this win, Kovacevic advances to the semifinals, where he will face top seed Andrey Rublev, who received a walkover after Nikoloz Basilashvili withdrew from their match.
In the other quarterfinals of the ATP 250 tournament, Jesper De Jong from the Netherlands and Felix Auger-Aliassime from Canada secured victories. De Jong defeated fellow Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor 7-6(5), 6-4, while Auger-Aliassime overcame China’s Yunchaokete Bu 6-3, 6-4.
