Alexander Bublik moved to within one win of capturing his fourth tour-level title on Saturday when he clawed past Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the Open Sud de France – Montpellier final.
The second seed Bublik played aggressively throughout the two-hour, 39-minute clash, backing up pinpoint serving with heavy ball striking to dictate in the key moments. The 26-year-old also held his nerve, recovering from squandering a break advantage in the third set to seal victory on serve on his second match point.
"I am happy to get through," Bublik said. "Especially on indoor courts. I am happy to get through and I left it all out there. I will try to win it again tomorrow."
With his sixth tour-level win of the season, Bublik has levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Auger-Aliassime at 2-2. Earlier this season, Bublik advanced to the semi-finals in Adelaide.
He will compete for his fourth tour-level trophy and second in Montpellier when he plays Borna Coric in Sunday’s final. Bublik holds a 9-2 record at the ATP 250 event, having lifted the trophy in 2022.
Auger-Aliassime was chasing his 15th tour-level final and 10th on indoor hard courts. The Canadian is up two spots to No. 28 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, with Bublik at No. 23.
Who will take the title in Montpellier? 👇@borna_coric v. @BublikAlexander @OpenSuddeFrance | #OSDF24 pic.twitter.com/w2QnAtr3hu
— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 3, 2024
In Saturday's second semi-final, Coric advanced to his first tour-level title match since 2022, when he won his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati. The Croatian led top seed Holger Rune 6-3, 4-1 when the Dane was forced to retire due to a right forearm injury.
Coric, who is yet to drop a set in Montpellier, is into his ninth tour-level final and like Bublik, will try to clinch his fourth tour-level trophy on side after advancing in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Rune.
The fourth-seeded Croatian won 79 per cent (23/29) of his first-serve points and broke Rune's serve four times before the match was halted after 59 minutes.
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