ATP Tour

'Mountain prep' pays off for Bublik on Gstaad debut

Alexander Bublik added another high-class display to his European-summer surge on Thursday at the EFG Swiss Open Gstaad.

Competing on clay for the first time since he reached his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Roland Garros, Bublik eased past his fellow Kazakhstani Alexander Shevchenko 6-2, 6-3 in the Swiss mountains. The second seed outhit Shevchenko by 20 winners to five to wrap a 62-minute win and set a quarter-final clash with Francisco Comesana.

Solid start 🫡

Bublik with a strong Gstaad debut, taking down compatriot Shevchenko 6–2 6–3 in an all-Kazakhstan matchup @SwissOpenGstaad | #SwissOpenGstaad pic.twitter.com/jOcWEDPksW

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 17, 2025

“It’s a beautiful place, but not the easiest conditions to play tennis,” reflected Bublik, who now leads Shevchenko 2-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head series, after his Gstaad debut. “The ball is flying a bit, so I’m really happy that I came here earlier, last Saturday, to prepare. It was not an easy match mentally. I played a compatriot, a guy I share a Davis Cup team with, so I was a bit nervous, but I stayed in the game and used my chances. I’m really happy with that.”

Bublik is now 14-5 in tour-level matches since the start of the Mutua Madrid Open in April. As well as his last-eight run at Roland Garros, the 28-year-old’s impressive recent results include an ATP 500 title run on the Halle grass. Having been the World No. 82 as recently as mid-March, Bublik is now up to No. 33 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.

Seventh seed Comesana earlier brushed past Roberto Carballes Baena 6-1, 6-4 to reach his third ATP Tour quarter-final. The Argentine, who snapped a five-match losing streak by defeating Marco Trungelliti in his opener, is seeded at a tour-level event for the first time.

Juan Manuel Cerundolo joined countryman Comesana in the quarter-finals by rallying past David Goffin 5-7, 6-4, 6-1. Their second-round clash was suspended due to rain at 4-4 in the second set on Wednesday evening, but when they returned on Thursday, Cerundolo surged to win eight of the final nine games to prevail.

A day later, Cerundolo sinks Goffin:

Up eight spots to No. 101 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, Cerundolo awaits a quarter-final clash with top seed and two-time Gstaad champion Casper Ruud.

Arthur Cazaux held firm to upset fourth seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and reach his maiden ATP Tour quarter-final. The 22-year-old Frenchman hit 42 winners and saved 10 of 11 break points faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats, during their two-hour, 30-minute match.

Next up for Cazaux in his Gstaad debut is Italian qualifier Francesco Passaro or home wild card Jerome Kym.