On his seventh attempt, Alexander Bublik defeated Daniil Medvedev for the first time to win the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, Germany.
The unseeded Kazakh produced a 6-3, 7-6(4), victory over the former world No.1 to cap off what has been a dream week at the tournament. In total, Bublik has beaten four seeded players in Halle with the most notable being Jannik Sinner in the second round. Against Medvedev, he fired 31 winners and won 79% of his first service points during the 83-minute final.
Coming into the final, Bublik had never taken a set off his Russian rival in their six previous Tour-level meetings, which were played on either hardcourts or the clay.
“Daniil, I’ve been cursed to play you forever and never won a set in my life. Today I’m happy to get through,” Bublik said during the trophy ceremony.
“You’re a great champion, I wish you a lot of success. To beat you here is a privilege for me. You’ve been working with your team forever, have been winning slams and I wish you a lot more success and a lot more slams.”
Bublik’s triumph extends his unbeaten record against top 25 players at the Tournament to eight wins against zero losses since 2023, which was the year he won the tournament for the first time. On the Tour, he has won nine out of his last 10 matches played.
The surge in form comes after what has been a tough period for Bublik who at one point doubted his future in the sport.
“I’ve had such tough months since last Wimbledon until probably this summer,” he said.
“I was close to calling it quits after Wimbledon because I wasn’t enjoying it anymore.
“I promised my coach that I would stay there, I will keep practising and then after Wimbledon, we will make a decision if I need a couple of weeks off.
“(Now) This is happening. Quarters in French (French Open). Winner here. I have no words.”
Bublik will rise to 30th in the PIF ATP rankings on Monday.
