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Alexander Bublik in action on Friday in Dubai.
By ATP Staff
Alexander Bublik will play for his fifth tour-level title after he advanced to his 11th tour-level final on Friday at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Bublik advanced in unusual circumstances. The seventh seed was leading 6-7(4), 7-6(5), 6-5 when Andrey Rublev was defaulted for unsportsmanlike conduct after making comments to a line judge after two hours and 31 minutes.
In the pair’s sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Bublik fired 21 aces and rallied from 3/5 in the second-set tie-break. The seventh seed was also 2-4, 0/40 behind in the decider.
Bublik is aiming to capture his second tour-level trophy of the season at the ATP 500, having triumphed in Montpellier in February. Earlier this week, the four-time tour-level champion overcame Tomas Machac, Tallon Griekspoor and Jiri Lehecka.
Bublik is up four places to No. 19 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and could rise to No. 17 with the title. He reached a career-high No. 21 last month and won his only ATP 500 title in Halle in 2023.
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