Alexander Bublik moved to within one win of capturing his first grass-court tour-level title on Saturday when he defeated home favourite Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-5 at the Terra Wortmann Open.
The 25-year-old produced a strong serving performance at the ATP 500 event, firing 14 aces and winning 94 per cent (32/34) of points behind his first delivery to advance against the German after 88 minutes.
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With his win, Bublik improved to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Zverev. Bublik lifted his only tour-level trophy in Montpellier in 2022, but will have the chance to add to his trophy haul when he meets Andrey Rublev or Roberto Bautista Agut in Sunday’s final.
Bublik is up 15 spots to No. 33 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings following his run to the final in Halle, where he has also defeated Jannik Sinner and Jan-Lennard Struff. Bublik has often found his best level on grass, reaching title matches on the surface in Newport in 2019 and 2022.