On June 25, Kazakh tennis player Alexander Bublik claimed his first ATP Tour 500 title at the 2023 Halle Open in Germany, defeating world no. 7 Andrey Rublev with a score of 6:3, 3:6, 6:3, QazMonitor reports citing the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation.
Throughout the entire week in Halle, Bublik maintained a top-level play that enabled him to overcome world no. 9 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, with a score of 7:5, 2:0, and then world no. 22 Alexander Zverev in just two sets, 6:3, 7:5.
In the match against Rublev, the first set strongly favored Bublik as the Kazakh tennis player disrupted his opponent's rhythm with a mixture of powerful groundstrokes and drop shots. However, the Russian tennis player wasn't going down without a fight and won the second set with a strong showing. In the decisive set, Bublik's outstanding performance manifested once again, paving the way for a 6:3, 3:6, 6:3 victory.
This marks Bublik's second ATP Tour title and his first in the 500 category. As the champion of the 2023 Halle Open, the Kazakh tennis player will receive €477,000 in prize money and 500 ranking points, which will move him from 48th to 27th place in the ATP rankings, marking his highest career standing.