Alexander Bublik claims Novak Djokovic once gave him some pretty detailed advice on how to string his racket, but only did so because he didn't consider the Kazakh as his real competition.
During a conversation on a Russian podcast, Bublik revealed that he had major issues with his racket string a couple of years ago. And after picking up an early exit at the Monte Carlo, the Kazakh tennis player was fed up with the issue. Since Djokovic happened to be sitting in the players' lounge, the 28-year-old wanted to use the opportunity to see if the record 24-time Grand Slam champion could somehow help him.
"I had problems. I was playing with a natural gut string, which is made from bull tendons. In general, it's a natural string that reacts to everythingto absolutely everything: heat, cold... it's a nightmare," the Kazakh said during a conversation with First&Red.
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I was sitting in Monte-Carlo. I lost in the first round, a terrible defeat. And Novak is sitting there, and Novak is a genius in all of this. I say, 'Novak, listen'and I can ask this because I am not his competitor. I say, 'Listen, what about the strings?' And he says... Well, he started telling me in detail what needs to be done: 'You try this tension, that tension, on the practice court, this is how it will feel for you...' In general, he went into all the fine points.
Bublik says another player instantly came to ask what Djokovic told him
In the same interview, Bublik said that another player - someone he didn't want to name - noticed that the Kazakh was receiving some advice from Djokovic. And as soon as their conversation finished, the player in question approached the 28-year-old to ask him what exactly he was told by the 10-time Australian Open champion.
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Bublik described that player as someone of "Djokovic's level," and therefore didn't want to reveal much because he felt that simply wouldn't have been the right thing to do.
Because of me, Novak doesn't see me as a competitor; I'm not a threat. But he would never say this to this other person, because he is his direct competitor," the 28-year-old Kazakh added.
This year, Bublik enjoyed a career-best season, during which he won four ATP titles and finished at a career-high ranking of No. 11 in the world.
