Alexander Bublik Knocks Out Alexander Zverev in Straight Sets to Clinch Maiden ATP Title in Montpellier

The 2022 Open Sud de France has ended, and the one holding the winning trophy is surprising. Kazakhstani Alexander Bublik met Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the final and defeated him in straight sets.

Clearly, Zverev had been the favorite to win the Montpellier Open. After all, he was the top seed in the tournament, compared to Bublik’s sixth seeding.

However, much like his shocking fourth-round upset against Denis Shapovalov in the Australian Open, Zverev bowed out in straight sets.

Bublik crashes Alexander Zverev out of Montpellier

Alexander Zverev had not dropped a single set in the Montpellier Open heading into the final round. On the other hand, Bublik’s round-of-16 match against Pierre-Hugues Herbert and quarter-final against second-seed Roberto Bautista Agut both were three-setters.

Naturally, it looked like momentum was on the side of the German World No. 3. However, right in the first set, Bublik broke Zverev’s serve once, and once was all he needed.

Winning the first set 6-4, Bublik then proceeded to break the German top seed’s serve yet again in the second set. In fact, as Zverev served to stay in the match in the ninth game, Bublik broke serve yet again to win the match 6-4, 6-3.

Thus, the World No. 35 was overjoyed as he won the match, and consequently, the tournament. This was Alexander Bublik‘s maiden ATP title, and to have won it against the World No. 3 as his final opponent is certainly a feat to be proud of.

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Moreover, this was the Alexanders’ second head-to-head battle, and Bublik had been victorious in the last one in Rotterdam 2021 as well. In fact, he had won that match in straight sets as well.

Zverev skipped out on watching the Australian Open 2022 final

The Australian Open 2022 final saw Russian World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev face off against Spanish legend Rafael Nadal. What initially looked like a foregone conclusion turned into an epic five-setter out of which Nadal emerged victorious.

Alexander Zverev, who had effectively been the second-highest seed in the tournament, sadly couldn’t make it to the quarter-finals. In the fourth round itself, Zverev lost in straight sets to Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

Despite crashing out of the tournament early, Zverev shared that he did not indulge in watching the final match. Zverev shared how he only watched it towards the end.

Personally, he admitted he prefers to “play the finals rather than watching them on television”. One wonders how he would feel about having reached the final in the Montpellier Open and not being able to clinch the title.

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