Alexander Bublik hailed his historic win over Jack Draper as the ‘best moment’ of his life.
The world no.62 pulled off a stunning comeback victory to beat the Brit in four sets in their fourth round clash at the French Open.
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Bublik recovered from losing the opening set to triumph 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
He will now face either Jannik Sinner or Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, a last four meeting with Alexander Zverev or Novak Djokovic awaits the winner later in the week.
Bublik made Grand Slam history by beating fifth seed Draper at Roland Garros.
His win means he becomes the first player representing Kazakhstan to reach the men’s singles quarter-finals of a Grand Slam in the Open Era.
Born in Russia, Bublik switched to represent Kazakhstan during his first year as a professional in 2016.
Prior to the tournament, he had only once made the fourth round at a Grand Slam, doing so at Wimbledon two years ago.
However, he does have pedigree on clay in the French capital having reached the final in the men’s doubles in Paris in 2021 with compatriot Andrey Golubev.
Following his win over Draper, the 27-year-old struggled to contain his emotions during his on-court interview.
Bublik explained: “Sometimes in life there is only one chance, and I had a feeling that was mine. I couldn’t let it slip. Standing here is the best moment of my life – period.
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“Thank you guys, that was amazing. I’m standing here like I won the thing, but what can I say! I can’t cry here – come on, let me be in peace!
“I still have a match to go, I’m a professional tennis player and I’ve got to get ready.”
After reaching a career-high of 17th in the world last year, a poor end to the season saw Bublik tumble down the ATP rankings.
As for Draper, his meteoric rise saw him arrive at the French Open inside the world’s top five.
He had been the last British player remaining in the men’s singles draw by the end of his match against Bublik.
Fellow Brit Cameron Norrie was beaten in straight sets by Djokovic earlier on Monday to end his run.
Bublik, meanwhile, is now the only non-seeded player left in the quarter-finals of the men’s singles.
His win over Draper means he is already guaranteed to climb up to at least 43rd in the world, a jump of 19 spots.
