Alexander Bublik was furious with his mistake (Image: Sky Sports)
Alexander Bublik could not contain his frustration during his defeat at the hands of Flavio Cobolli at the China Open.
The Kazakhstan star claimed the opening set 6-4 in Beijing but lost his cool in the second set, with momentum favouring his Italian opponent.
Cobolli claimed the opening two games before being taken to deuce by Bublik. The Italian ultimately prevailed, with Bublik hitting his backhand straight into the net despite being under minimal pressure.
The mistake proved one too many for the 27-year-old, who responded by continuously smashing his racket into the ground in temper .
Bublik slammed his racket into the clay a total of five times, leaving him with no choice but to toss it to the side and bring out a new one.
However, despite letting off some steam at the expense of his racket, Bublik was unable to prevent Cobolli from drawing level as he claimed the second set with a 6-1 success.
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The eighth seed was then dumped out of the competition in the Chinese capital, with Cobolli claiming the final set 7-6(4) to book his spot in the next round of the competition, despite having his preparation for the competition restricted after featuring at the Laver Cup in Berlin.
Cobolli will be hoping that the nature of his victory will put an end to the negative press he is receiving in his homeland. The Italian has come under fire for saying that is the best player in the world, rather than fellow countryman .
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— Tennis TV (@TennisTV)
Flavio Cobolli completed an impressive comeback to progress into the next round (Image: Getty)
The comment has been viewed by some as a dig at Sinner, though such criticism has left Cobolli dumbfounded. He explained: “I don’t know what to say, I find it absurd what is happening in Italy, I think it’s absurd that I have to explain why I told that he is the best in the world.
“What should I say to someone who is top two in the world while I am top 30… it’s as if I were talking to , it’s not like I tell him that is better.”
Cobolli will be hoping that his performances in Beijing will drown out the noise around his comments, especially given that he has spoken openly about his friendship with Sinner previously.