Almaty, 23 October. Kazakhstan's top-ranked player Alexander Bublik reached the semi-finals of the ATP 250 Almaty Open by beating Russia's Karen Khachanov 4–6, 7–6 (7–5), 7–6 (7–5) in the quarter-finals and will meet top seed Daniil Medvedev on 24 October, BES.media reports, citing the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation.
On the same day Elena Rybakina reached the semi-finals in Ningbo, China.
Khachanov took the first set 6–4 with a single break. Both remaining sets went to tie-breaks, and Bublik won both 7–5. He hit 21 aces to his opponent's eight. Almaty Arena was packed, according to Zakon.kz. After the match Bublik admitted the contest had been even and could have gone either way, with well-played points at the end of the second and third sets deciding it. He also praised the development of tennis in Kazakhstan.
Medvedev beat France's Terence Atmane 6–4, 6–4 in his quarter-final. The other semi-final on 24 October pits Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas. The tournament ends on 25 October, Republic Day.
In the Ningbo quarter-finals Rybakina beat Poland's Katarzyna Kawa 6–1, 3–6, 6–1. Afterwards she said she had run short of energy on serve, made some errors and found the games hard going: "I'm glad I kept playing my game." Her semi-final opponent is Russia's Diana Shnaider. From 26 October to 1 November Rybakina will play at a tournament in Japan.
What it means: Kazakhstan's two leading tennis players reached semi-finals on the same day. At his home tournament, Bublik now faces his toughest match yet, against the top seed.
Who benefits: Bublik and Rybakina earn ranking points and prize money for every round won; the Almaty Open and the Kazakhstan Tennis Federation get full stands and interest in a tournament where a home player has reached the semi-finals.
Background: The Almaty Open runs from 19 to 25 October with prize money of $1,075,160. Bublik, world No. 19 and the third seed, started in the second round and reached the quarter-finals without playing, as Hungary's Fabian Marozsan withdrew minutes before their match, so the win over Khachanov was his first singles match of the tournament.
List of sources used: BES.media, Zakon.kz, NUR.KZ
Artificial intelligence was used in preparing this material.
