Bublik saves 3 MPs to beat Shapovalov in Montpellier

Alexander Bublik overcame a slow start and three match points against him to begin his campaign at the Open Sud de France – Montpellier with a Wednesday win. The Kazakhstani second seed picked up his first victory since reaching the Adelaide semi-finals with a 1-6, 7-6(12), 6-3 result against Denis Shapovalov.

At the site where he claimed his first ATP Tour title in 2022, Bublik's game began to click in the second set, during which he did not face a break point until Shapovalov brought up match point on return at 6-5. Bublik escaped that service game and then fought off two more match points on serve in a marathon tie-break before clinching the set on his fifth opportunity.

He dropped just one point on serve in a dominant final set, wrapping up the win after nearly two and a half hours with his 10th ace.

"Denis is a former Top 10 player on the way back from injury. Playing him was a disaster the first couple of sets," Bublik said after reaching the quarter-finals at the ATP 250. "But I was lucky at the end, I used my chances and I got the win so I'm really happy."

Shapovalov, who suffered a knee injury in 2023 and missed the second half of the season, picked up his first win of 2024 in the Montepellier opening round against Hugo Gaston. He was seeking his first tour-level quarter-final since he reached that stage in Adelaide to begin last year.

After a third-round run as a qualifier at the Australian Open, Flavio Cobolli continued his strong start to 2024 with an opening win of his own on Wednesday. The 21-year-old Italian stormed back for a 6-7(8), 6-3, 6-0 victory against eighth seed Gael Monfils, winning nine of the last 10 games to upset the home favourite at the ATP 250.

Cobolli entered the event at a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 76 after an Australian Open run that included his first Top 20 win against Nicolas Jarry in the first round.

"I loved to share the court with [Monfils]," Cobolli said after his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the Frenchman. "He's an amazing legend of our sport, so I love to play with him.

"I'm really proud because after the first set it was really tough to come back in this match. But I'm really happy for the win and now I'm looking forward to the next match."

Flavio flying 🚀@OpenSuddeFrance | #OSDF24 | pic.twitter.com/0NfespjUku

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 31, 2024

At the conclusion of an opening set with four service breaks, Monfils won a dramatic tie-break on his fourth set point, saving one at 7/8 along the way. Cobolli dominated from midway through set two, losing just one game after Monfils' third break made it 3-2. Cobolli finished with seven breaks on 16 chances.

Next up for the Italian, who competed at the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals, is another French opponent: Constant Lestienne. Lestienne also earned a comeback win on Wednesday, beating Bernabe Zapata Miralles 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Monfils, making his ninth appearance in Montpellier, was denied his first win at the event since he beat Vasek Pospisil to win the 2020 title. His three Montpellier titles are tied with Richard Gasquet for most at the event. 

Also on Wednesday in Montpellier, sixth-seeded Kazakhstani Alexander Shevchenko opened his campaign a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win against Dalibor Svrcina. In second-round action, American Michael Mmoh knocked off seventh-seeded Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-4, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals.