Gstaad Open: Bublik beats Cazaux to reach 13th tour-level final

Gstaad, July 19 (IANS) Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan defeated Arthur Cazaux as he rode his blazing run at the Swiss Open Gstaad to a new career milestone on Saturday, as he made a record 13th tour-level final and first in the clay-court event in Switzerland.

The second seed from Kazakhstan delivered a classy semifinal performance to defeat Arthur Cazaux 6-1, 7-5 and continued his perfect set record at the ATP 250 event being played on clay-court. Bublik, who hit 35 winners during his 73-minute match, reached his 13th tour-level final, and first on clay.

“Surprisingly, I have been winning every match in two sets, but before the tournament, I was not convinced on court,” joked Bublik after improving to 2-0 in his ATP head-to-head series with Cazaux. “Tennis is tennis, we play in all conditions: Rain, sun, wind… We have to adapt, and clay is one of those things.”

While Bublik was dominant from all corners of the court in his clash with Cazaux, he was particularly potent behind his serve. The Kazakhstani fired 12 aces and won 87 per cent (33/38) of first-serve points, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Up four spots to No. 30 in the ATP Live Rankings, Bublik ensured he will return to the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings for the first time since last year on Monday. The 28-year-old’s stellar surge is highlighted by his quarterfinal run at Roland Garros before he captured his second trophy in Halle.

Chasing his sixth ATP Tour title, Bublik will face Juan Manuel Cerundolo in Sunday’s summit clash. Cerundolo, who notched the biggest win of his career over World No. 13 Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, continued his form to defeat Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse 6-3, 6-3 amid testing conditions.

“Today was too windy, I think the key was to play with the wind,” said Cerundolo, who is in his first ATP Tour final since winning the Cordoba title in his tour-level debut in 2021. “When I was against the wind, I tried to hold serve by using variation in my game, and when I had the wind in my favour, I hit with more spin because the ball bounces really high. That was the key.”

By notching a personal-best eighth tour-level win of the season, Cerundolo has jumped 28 spots to No. 81 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. On Monday, he will return to the Top 100 for the first time since 2023.

--IANS

bsk/