Alexander Bublik completed yet another comeback to oust Felix Auger-Aliassime at the Montpellier Open in three sets.
The match was always expected to be a close affair, and it truly was. Auger-Aliassime is the more stable player overall and certainly had that going for him in this match, while Bublik's familiarity with the court helped him create an advantage at other times.
The opening set was a pretty close affair. Both players did enough damage on their opening serve while struggling somewhat on the second one. The crucial difference is that the Canadian used his chances while not allowing any to Bublik, and that was enough to win it 6-4.
The second set was a bit different as both regressed with their serving, but the overall theme persisted. Both were comfortable on the first serve while less so on the second serve.
The difference was that Bublik saved the breaking point he faced, while Auger-Aliassime didn't save all of what he faced. The result of that was Bublik taking the second set 6-4.
The final set opened with Bublik on fire as he took an early 2-0 lead. Unfortunately for him, his streaky nature allowed Auger-Aliassime to break back immediately, though Bublik would eventually jump out to another lead 4-3.
He played better overall, especially on the serve, rarely giving away anything. Auger-Aliassime struggled on the second serve, with Bublik attacking every single one with great success.
The heavy pressure resulted in multiple double faults, which didn't help. That was enough for Bublik, who was fully confident in his tennis and cruised after that.
The final score ended up being 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 for the Kazaskhtani player, who moved on to yet another final at the ATP 250 event in Montpellier. He won the event a few years ago by beating Alexander Zverev in the final.
0 Comments