Almaty, 24 October. Kazakhstan's number one Alexander Bublik retired from his semi-final at the ATP 250 Almaty Open against Russia's Daniil Medvedev after losing the first set 3:6, and Medvedev reached the final of the Almaty tournament for the second year in a row.
According to Zakon.kz, Bublik picked up a minor injury at the end of his quarter-final against Karen Khachanov, and the pain had not eased by the semi-final. He came on court strapped up and played a set but could not continue, as he could no longer move properly. The match lasted 21 minutes. Bublik served three aces and made no double faults; Medvedev hit nine aces and converted one of two break points. As Sports24.kz noted, the official reason for the retirement had not been given at the time of publication.
The day before, Bublik had played a gruelling quarter-final: after losing the first set, he won two tie-breaks and beat Khachanov 4:6, 7:6 (7:5), 7:6 (7:5). The match lasted 2 hours 27 minutes.
Medvedev's opponent in the final will be Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili. He came through qualifying into the main draw, has played six matches on the way to the final and beat Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas 6:4, 6:7 (5:7), 6:3 in the semi-final. "I played a good match, I think I managed to be very effective on my serve and to use my chances on my opponent's serve," Basilashvili said. The final is scheduled for 25 October at 14:00.
What it means: The home tournament for Kazakhstan's best tennis player ended in the semi-final because of an injury picked up in the previous match. The title will be decided between the defending champion and a qualifier.
Who benefits: Medvedev gets a chance to defend last year's title. Basilashvili has reached a final from qualifying. The break gives Bublik time to heal; how serious the injury is has not been officially announced.
Background: The Almaty Open is an ATP 250 tournament on indoor hard courts, held in Almaty since 2024. Medvedev won it in 2025. Bublik had not played in Almaty in previous editions.
We have also reported that Bublik would play Medvedev in the Almaty Open semi-final.
