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<\/a><\/p>\nThe vision left fans questioning just what went down between the pair, who also had words in a frosty handshake at the Madrid Open in April.<\/p>\n
Bublik wasted little time offering his side of the story in Paris.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old said he refused to shake Popyrin\u2019s hand because he disappointed the Aussie had celebrated rather than apologised for two net cords \u2014 including one on a break point.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think any reasonable person would have done the same if I had ever done the same,\u201d he told Russian outlet Championat<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a code, there\u2019s some kind of etiquette. If someone doesn\u2019t follow it, why should I?\u201d<\/p>\n While Bublik will move on to a second-round clash with American Reilly Opelka or France\u2019s Corentin Moutet, Popyrin has been left to rue his fourth straight defeat.<\/p>\n Popyrin briefly reached a career-high 19th in the world rankings in August but is set to fall outside the world\u2019s top 50 after Paris.<\/p>\n The slump began when his ranking fell just before the US Open and, as an unseeded player, copped world No.1 Jannik Sinner in the second round.<\/p>\n Popyrin is now at risk of suffering a similar fate at January\u2019s Australian Open with the calendar offering little hope of firing back into the top 32 before the rankings are set.<\/p>\n Elsewhere among Australians at the Paris Masters, Aleksandar Vukic kept up his qualifying form to reach the second round.<\/p>\n Vukic dismissed French wildcard Terence Atmane 6-4 2-6 6-4 to book a clash with American fourth seed Taylor Fritz.<\/p>\n Alex de Minaur, gifted a first-round bye as the sixth seed, will begin his tournament in the against 25th seed Tallon Griekspoor or Gabriel Diallo in the second round.<\/p>\n He faces a tricky third-round clash against 10th seed Karen Khachanov, Canadian Denis Shapovalov or rising star Joao Fonseca.<\/p>\n