FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Paris Masters - Accor Arena, Paris, France - October 30, 2024 Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik in action during his round of 32 match against Denmark's Holger Rune REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo
(Reuters) - Trailing at 6-3 5-1 and with little hope of victory in his quarter-final meeting with Aleksandar Kovacevic at the Open Occitanie in Montpellier, a desperate Alexander Bublik sought the help of a bemused ball boy.
Kazakh Bublik, considered one of the great entertainers in tennis for his unorthodox style and liberal use of trick shots, handed his racket to the ball boy and asked him to serve, with a smiling Kovacevic netting the return to applause from the crowd.
Bublik also entertained fans with a string of underarm serves, including three in a row to secure a hold at 4-1 down in the first set.
"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)," Kovacevic said in his on-court interview after claiming a 6-4 6-2 win on Friday.
"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."
Kovacevic faces Russian top seed Andrey Rublev in the semi-final later on Saturday.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
