Alexander Bublik opponent launches angry complaint and walks off court as match suspended

Alexander Bublik's opponent in the Generali Open quarter-finals, Alexander Shevchenko, complained to the umpire following a rain delay after the Halle Open champion failed to emerge from the locker room. Their last eight showdown was disrupted by rain in the early stages of the second set.

Bublik reached the Generali Open quarter-finals after overcoming Thiago Agustin Tirante in his opening match on Wednesday. And the Russian-born Kazakh star gained the upper hand early on as he clinched the first set 6-4, before securing an early break in the next set. But the match was halted, with Bublik leading 2-1 in the second set.

Shevchenko returned to the court just over 15 minutes after the players headed for shelter, but Bublik was nowhere to be seen.

The world No. 110 then moaned to the umpire before walking off the court once again. When the duo both came back onto the court, Bublik clinched another game to extend his advantage to 3-1 in the second.

However, the rain fell once again as Bublik directed a complaint at the umpire. And both players ultimately shook hands and departed the court for a second time.

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Bublik has enjoyed a dazzling run of form in recent months and had won 14 of his previous 16 matches ahead of his encounter with Shevchenko.

The 28-year-old enjoyed his best ever performance at a Grand Slam in May as he reached the French Open quarter-finals before losing to Jannik Sinner.

He went on to win the Halle Open on grass courtesy of a 6-3, 7-6 victory over Daniil Medvedev, before defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the final of the ATP 250 event in Gstaad.

However, the star did lose to Jaume Munar in a five-set thriller in the first round of Wimbledon in between those title victories.

Following his defeat to Sinner at the French Open, Bublik incredibly admitted that he has never harboured aspirations to win a Grand Slam as he stated: "I never had the goals to be a Grand Slam champion.

"I never had this. I don't think I ever had a thought that that's like - it's not like about possible or impossible. I never wanted that.

"Tennis for me is a journey. Tennis for me is a part of life, an important part of life, but quarter-final here, it's like achievements on the wall, like a [ATP] 250 won, [ATP] 500 won, different surfaces. That's another tick in the box."

And after his win against Tirante in Kitzbuhel, the star exclaimed: "I've been playing quite well in the past months, but every match is different. I just try to take it match by match."