Kazakh Alexander Bublik, 48th player in the world, qualified for the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Halle (grass) in Germany on Saturday, dominating the German Alexander Zverev, seeded N.9, in two sets, 6- 3, 7-5.
Bublik, 26, will play his first final of the season on Sunday, against Spaniard Roberto Bautista or Russian Andrey Rublev. To date, his only title on the ATP circuit was won last year in Montpellier… after a victory in the final against the same Alexander Zverev.
The German is definitely doing well at the Kazakh, who has won three times in four confrontations between the two players.
Saturday, Bublik took less than an hour and a half to get the upper hand on the former world number two, whom he beat on his first ball (14 aces for the Kazakh and 94% of points won).
In the first set, he quickly took the lead by making the break in the 4th game (3-1), and then settled for his serve (6-3).
The two players then held their face-off until 5-5 in the second set, when Zverev collapsed, receiving a shutout on his serve. Intractable, Alexander Bublik then concluded without trembling, 7-5.