Alexander Bublik dazzles the OWL Arena to win biggest title of his career
At the Terra Wortmann Open on Sunday in Halle, Alexander Bublik put his previous disappointment on grass courts to bed at last.
To win the biggest trophy of his career to date at the ATP 500 in Germany, the Kazakhstan No 1 defeated Andrey Rublev 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the final set with a magnificent all-around effort.
Bublik entered the OWL Arena court with a 0-2 record in grass-court tour-level finals after he just missed winning the championship in Newport in both 2019 and 2022. Despite his history, he showed no signs of trepidation on Sunday, winning in 95 minutes against the third-seeded Rublev after the pair dazzled the Halle audience with crisp, creative shotmaking.
The best of the play came from Bublik and he was a deserved if somewhat shocked winner.
“It really means the world to me,” said Bublik. “I’ve been struggling for half a year and now having this a reward, I don’t take it for granted. It was hard work. I was walking through the little hall of fame here before entering the court for the very first time against Struff [in the second round], and I was like ‘Wow, the different names, a lot of guys I’m familiar with. That would be nice maybe to have it one day’.
“But I could not even imagine that I would win this tournament, and I’m really, really happy.”
Bublik displayed a strong serving effort, just as he did all week in Halle, to cut down on Rublev’s opportunities to get any returns in at all.
He frequently displayed a high quality of play from the baseline, upsetting Rublev’s rhythm with a combination of powerful groundstrokes and deft drop shots.
Bublik remained true to his all-or-nothing serve strategy even under pressure. When serving for the match at 5-3 in the third set, he committed three double faults, but importantly, he hit a great first serve to avoid a break point at 30/40 and went on to claim the win, his first over Rublev in four matches.
For Bublik, who had won the trophy on the Montpellier indoor hard courts in 2022, it was his second ATP Tour triumph.
The 26-year-old’s performance in Halle, where he also defeated seeded rivals Borna Coric, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev, will lift him to a new ATP Ranking high on Monday. He is presently No 26 in the ATP Live Rankings, moving up 22 positions.
Since the category’s inception in 2009, Rublev sought to become the first player to claim an ATP 500 title on three surfaces. The 25-year-old, who also advanced to the Halle final in 2021, was vying for his first tour-level victory on grass.
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