Alexander Bublik rebuked a reporter for comparing him with Carlos Alcaraz in an awkward interview at the Paris Masters. Bublik is through to the quarter-finals, having earned a statement victory over Taylor Fritz in his last match on Thursday. A tough test awaits him in the last eight with Alex de Minaur standing in the way of a semi-final spot.

After dumping Fritz out of the tournament, Bublik took part in an interview on Tennis Channel where he shut down comparisons with Alcaraz. The reporter suggested that his shots were quite similar to those of the Spaniard but Bublik was having none of it. He issued a strong response, urging the reporter to avoid 'disrespecting' Alcaraz by making those comparisons.

"First of all, you cannot compare me to Carlos in any matter," said Bublik. "Let's put it like this, I don't disrespect Carlos, okay? I like Carlos since he was 16 years old, playing on a side court in Australia. Don't disrespect him that way.

"No, obviously, I became better in choosing my shots. Yes, because otherwise I would not be winning matches that often and keep consistency throughout, you know, its the end of the season. I hope to continue this way."

Bublik also reflected on his victory over Fritz, suggesting the American was not in the right frame of mind given that he has already qualified for the ATP Finals.

"We are in different positions now, he's going to Turin, I'm still fighting maybe to be an alternate, so maybe the mindset changed a bit," he added.

"I'm not saying 100 per cent, but he was not as clutch as he usually is, so I had a bit of freedom, which he took from me in the past three meetings, when he actually killed me all the time."

Earlier in the tournament, Bublik was involved in a bitter row with Corentin Moutet after beating the Frenchman in the second round.

Ahead of the showdown in the French capital, Moutet had admitted that he wanted to 'send Bublik home'. After sealing victory, Bublik wrote on the camera lens: "On the way home."

After the encounter, Bublik explained: "Obviously he spoke too much before the match, you know, he spoke too much, and I just have to punish him, so I had no other option.

"He said that he will do everything to send me home, so it's nice that he lives in Paris and it's not too far with a taxi, you know?"