“ Standing here, it’s the best moment of my life, ” said Alexander Bublik after the biggest win of his career. The 27-year-old had just booked his place in the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. His fourth-round victory over Jack Draper has taken him where no Kazakhstani man has gone before in singles, into the last eight of a Slam. Bublik didn’t exactly arrive in Paris as a favorite. He came in with a 7–13 record for the year and was ranked in the 60s. But now, with two top-10 wins under his belt, he’s defying expectations. “ Sometimes in life there’s only one chance, and I had a feeling that that was mine, and I couldn’t let it slip,” he said after the win. But how did he make it count? Serena Williams’ former coach has an answer!

Instead of a long grind agains

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