Alexander Bublik Hopes to Be ‘Lucky’ in Halle Final, Eyes Win Over ‘Curse’ Daniil Medvedev for 1st Time

Daniil Medvedev overcame Alexander Zverev to reach a tour-level final for the first time since last year's Indian Wells Masters.

Alexander Bublik Hopes to Be ‘Lucky’ in Halle Final, Eyes Win Over ‘Curse’ Daniil Medvedev for 1st Time

Alexander Bublik, Daniil Medvedev (Image via X/We Are Tennis, The Tennis Letter)

Alexander Bublik has made another stride forward for his first ATP title of this season. On Saturday (June 21), the Kazakh ace came from a set down to knock out Russia’s Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to book a spot in the Halle Open final.

To win his second title in the tournament, Bublik has to cross the final hurdle in the form of Daniil Medvedev. The Russian met Bublik six times but never the latter was successful in clinching a win.

He’s basically the last Russian standing that I haven’t beaten in my life…I’ve beaten all of them…Daniil was my curse throughout my career. But as a wise man once told me, every time you lose to someone, mathematically you’ll come closer to a win. Let’s hope tomorrow will be the lucky one.

Alexander Bublik said during the on-court interview

The final, scheduled on June 22, will be their first meeting this season. They last faced each other in the fourth round of the 2024 Madrid Open. The upcoming match will be their first encounter on grass. Medvedev is the winner of 20 singles titles, but only one of them he has lifted on grass, back in 2021 at the Mallorca Open.

The 28-year-old has four singles titles under his belt and the grass-court trophy he lifted was at the 2023 Halle Open. While Bublik last lifted a title at the 2024 Open Sud de France, Medvedev is still searching for his first trophy since winning his first clay-court title at the 2023 Italian Open.

Before scheduling the match against Medvedev, Bublik conquered World No.1 Jannik Sinner, becoming the first player after Carlos Alcaraz to beat the three-time Grand Slam champion since last August. He has now reached his 12th tour-level championship match.

Daniil Medvedev sinks Alexander Zverev to reach the Halle Open final

Before moving to his first final in 15 months, Daniil Medvedev had to overcome his longtime rival and home favorite Alexander Zverev. The match, as expected, was a tight affair.

Daniil Medvedev (3)
Daniil Medvedev (Image via X/Meddy Family)

After winning the first set through the tie-breaker, Medvedev had three match points in the second set but he failed to convert them with the set extending to the tie-breaker and Zverev winning it to force the decider. Medvedev eventually claimed the win in two hours and 58 minutes with a 7-6(3), 6-7(1), 6-4 scoreline.

I am happy that in the third set, I managed to stay more composed and managed to save those break points. I would have loved to finish on the match points. The first one I went for it and missed it. The second one I went a bit slower to wait for a mistake and he made a great point. I am happy to win in the end.

Daniil Medvedev said at the press conference

Medvedev improved his head-to-head record over the three-time Grand Slam finalist to 13-7 and the match was their first clash since last year’s Australian Open semifinal. The 2021 US Open champion has now won their last four matches, and it was also their first clash on grass.

Zverev, who was aiming to win his second title of the season after the BMW Open, was also chasing his first title on grass. Last year in Halle, Sascha was defeated in the semifinal by eventual runner-up Hubert Hurkacz. Medvedev, on the other hand, lost to Zhang Zhizhen in the second round in Halle last year.

After the warm-up event, both the players will start their preparation for Wimbledon, where Medvedev has never progressed to the final. He was a semifinalist in 2023 and 2024. Zverev has never reached the quarterfinals and thrice he made the fourth round (2017, 2021, 2024).

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