"I've never seen Felix Auger-Aliassime this animated on court" - Fans baffled by Canadian's drama with Alexander Bublik after Dubai VAR controversy

Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his return to good form at the Dubai Tennis Championships on Wednesday (February 26), beating Alexander Bublik in three sets to advance to the second round. However, there was a contentious moment during the first-set tiebreaker that required Video Assistant Referee (VAR) intervention.

The Kazakh and the Canadian exchanged one break each in the first set before reaching a tiebreaker in their first-round encounter at the ATP 500 tournament. The two players then went toe-to-toe until 6-6 when it all went down.

Bublik served at 6-6 and seemed to have won the point with an easy put-away smash. However, a ball boy seemingly tried to catch the ball, believing that the point was over. The World No. 21 and the ball boy ultimately ran into each other, and following his complaint, a VAR check was signaled by the chair umpire to determine whether a replay was necessary.

The newly-introduced technology gave the decision in his favor, which riled up the World No. 51 if his subsequent underarm serve ace was anything to go by. All of this drama amused tennis fans on X (formerly Twitter) greatly. One fan insisted they had never seen Felix Auger-Aliassime so "animated" during his 7-6(7), 6-7(4), 6-3 win on Wednesday.

"I have never seen Felix this animated on court. More of this please!!" the fan wrote on X.

Another, meanwhile, criticized the Kazakh's reaction to the VAR check.

"Bublik being a d****e as usual, but that was wildly entertaining," another wrote.

A fan, meanwhile, attached a meme as they joked about Bublik always being involved in on-court drama.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

"Of course Felix is involved somehow," one fan wrote.

"Tennis players are insufferable," another asserted.

"FAA is such a cry baby man," one fan insisted.

"Everything so freakin hilarious haha, Bublik ended up as a clown hahaha," another wrote.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime looking to improve career-best result at Dubai Tennis Championships

Felix Auger-Aliassime has enjoyed a good season in 2025 | Image Source: Getty

Felix Auger-Aliassime will next face Portugal's Nuno Borges for a place in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Dubai Tennis Championships. The second-round match at the 500-level event marks the two players' first career meeting.

Auger-Aliassime will be eager to achieve his career's best result in Dubai when he takes the court against Borges. The Canadian previously reached the Round of 16 at the 2023 edition of the tournament two years ago, in what was his only career appearance at the tournament until this year.