Alexander Bublik won the biggest title of his career after he defeated Andrey Rublev in the 2023 Halle Open final.
The two protagonists of the final match in Halle know each other quite well and also have a friendly relationship. They met four times in the past on the ATP Tour, with Rublev winning all main draw matches, while Bublik won in their first meeting which was in the qualifying.
In the final, Rublev had a chance to make history by becoming the first player to win an ATP 500 title on every surface. On the other hand, the Kazakh was fighting for the biggest title of his career, and he wanted to capitalize on the sensational run that he had in the German city.
On his way to the final, he even used a very untraditional return position but he needed more than that to overcome his final opponent. But he started well. After saving a break point in the first game, Bublik broke his opponent's serve in the next.
He then controlled the remainder of the set with his strong serves, winning it 6-3 after producing three holds to love along the way. But Rublev won't go down without a fight.
The Russian made sure not to face any break points in the second set, while he had a couple of chances to take his opponent's serve. Rublev used his second chance and after two comfortable service games, he won the second set 6-3 to take the match into a decider.
The crowd in Halle got the final they wanted and the game was on in the third set. But Rublev couldn't find for a long time. He got broken in the second game of the third set and in the fourth game, he faced another break point.
But after the World No. 7 saved that, he gave himself a chance to break back when his opponent was serving for the match at 5-3. But Bublik saved himself with his serves to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and win the biggest title in his career.
By winning the tournament, Bublik, who is one of the best grass-court players on the ATP Tour, made sure that he will be among the seeded players at the upcoming Wimbledon. Moreover, he made Andy Murray's chances smaller by overtaking him in the rankings.
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