‘Shot of Wimbledon 2023’: Rublev’s insane diving winner leaves Bublik goggle-eyed, commentator in disbelief – Watch

When Alexander Bublik bounced back from two sets down to force a deciding fifth in a bid to emulate his show at Halle Open final against Andre Rublev in the last-16 tie at Wimbledon on Sunday evening, commentator and tennis legend John McEnroe was busy looking through record books to find the last player to have won a match at SW19 after losing first two sets. Despite going through a whirlwind of emotions of having the possibility to being at the wrong end of the record, Rublev held his nerve in the final set, broke in the seventh game and sealed the match with one of the most insanely ridiculous shot winner that left Bublik googled-eyed and McEnroe in sheer disbelief.

It was in the seventh game of the final set when Rublev engineered a critical break. He did not face a single break point in that set overall and made a mockery of a challenge put forward by Bublik in the final game. Given the chance to serve out the match, the Russian went 30-15 up before world tennis witnessed that extraordinary moment that set up match point. The Halle Open winner muscled through a backhand down the line and his scream illustrated the power generated behind the shot. Rublev, who was probably expecting a cross court return, made a run towards his right, changed his grip quickly, dived full stretch from well behind the baseline to somehow fire it back over the net.

Bublik froze for a moment. He was left google-eyed. And then put his hand over his head staring at Rublev who was down on the ground after that dive and slowly stood up to the roar from the crowd.

“He can’t believe it, we can’t either. The crowd is up. Bublik is probably wondering how is that possible,” exclaimed one of the commentators. McEnroe then said: “That is one of the great shots we’ve seen here in years!” while most on Twitter called it the ‘shot of the tournament’.

“Probably it was the most lucky shot ever,” Rublev told the Centre Court crowd after the match. “It was luck, nothing else – I don’t think that I can do it one more time.”

Rublev, who completed an 8-1 record on grass in 2023 to reach the quarters for the first time in Wimbledon, admitted that remaining calm and focussed after losing the third and fourth set was the key.

“I don’t know, I was just thinking ‘Ok, it doesn’t matter that I lost the third set and the fourth set,’” he said. “Each set I had chances to win, or he played good, or maybe I was a bit tight and I didn’t play well, so I said for sure if I keep playing I will have at least one chance. At the end I had this chance an I returned so good – I played a really good rally and I was able to break him.”