Bublik Smashes His Racket, Cuts His Hand, and Still Beats Nakashima

Alexander Bublik turned a lost set in Shanghai into one of the stranger comebacks of the week.

In the third round of the Shanghai Masters, Bublik held two set points at 6–4 in the first-set tiebreak against Brandon Nakashima. He failed to convert either. Nakashima took the tiebreak 9–7 and the set 7–6.

Bublik’s response was immediate. He smashed his racket into the court until it was beyond use, then struck the lid of a drinks cooler and cut his own hand. He called for the trainer and took a medical timeout before he could continue.

The outburst did not decide the match. Bublik levelled by taking the second set 6–3, then won the third-set tiebreak. The final score was 6–7 (7), 6–3, 7–6 (5). The win put him into the round of 16 against Alexander Zverev.

A clip of the racket smash, the cut, the treatment and the finish is on Reddit.