Kazakhstan's Bublik beats Medvedev in straight sets to claim second title on grass in Halle ahead of Wimbledon
AP Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik reacts after defeating Russia's Daniil Medvedev in their men's single final of the Halle tennis tournament, Germany, Sunday, June 22, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP)
Kazakh Alexander Bublik defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (4), on Sunday, June 22, 2025, to win the Halle Open for the second time. He also won the grass-court tournament in 2023. He is just the third player to claim the title more than once after three-time winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov and 10-time champion Roger Federer.Bublik achieved his first win in seven meetings with Russian Daniil Medvedev. He defeated top-ranked Jannik Sinner in the second round. Bublik, ranked 45, maintained his streak with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/4) victory in one hour and 22 minutes in his first clash on grass with third seed Medvedev. The Halle Open win for Bublik came a week before Wimbledon. Medvedev, who saw off home favourite Alexander Zverev in the semifinals, was playing his first final since losing to Carlos Alcaraz at Indian Wells in March 2024.
Thanks to his second Halle trophy after 2023 and fifth ATP title overall, Bublik will move to 30th in Monday's ATP rankings, while Medvedev, who was playing in his first final in 15 months, will move to number nine. "I was cursed against you, Daniil. But today, I'm happy to have won. Beating you here is a great honour for me," Bublik said during the trophy presentation. In the first set, Bublik broke his opponent's serve to lead 5-3 and won the set on his serve.
The Kazakh saved Medvedev's only break point, also a set point, at 4-5 in the second set with a perfectly hit drop shot. He wrapped up the match in the tiebreak with a service winner. "From the mental point of view, that's the toughest match I ever played in my life," said Bublik. "I have never beaten Daniil. He's a super tough player to play, especially with my gamestyle, and today everything clicked in mentally and physically. That's one of the wins of my career.""I had such tough months since last Wimbledon to probably this summer," said Bublik, who had dropped out of the top 75 until last month and conceded he was "close to calling it quits after Wimbledon (last year), because I was not enjoying it anymore." Bublik has also won titles in Montpellier in 2022 and 2024 and Antwerp and Halle in 2023."Alexander Bublik played some great grass court play today. My heart always beats a little faster when you play like that on grass," said 57-year-old German Boris Becker, a three-time Wimbledon champion (1985, 1986, 1989), before presenting the trophy.A former world number one in 2022, Medvedev lost his sixth consecutive final; his 20th and last title was the Masters 1000 on clay in Rome in May 2023. "Keep playing like that, and please, Carlos (Alcaraz) or Jannik in your draw at Wimbledon," joked former US Open winner Medvedev, a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist.
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