Kazakh Alexander Bublik won his first tour-level clay court title at GSTAAD’s Swiss Open in the Sunday final of the ATP 250 event, beating Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundo and Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundo 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
Bublik, the French open quarter finalist, who was second seeded in GSTAAD, was playing in his first final at Clay. He hadn’t dropped the set in the middle of the finals, but had to reorganize after a patchy second set to seal the victory in just two hours.
“Juan, like I said online, this wasn’t tennis. It was total torture,” Bablik joked at the trophy ceremony. “This is my sixth title and I played a great guy in the game, but I remember this last one as one of the toughest things I’ve ever had.
“I can’t wait to come back next year. It’s a beautiful Alps. It’s a great place. I’m really happy to be standing here as a winner, but even if I lose in the first round, the views are amazing anyway.”
Bublik’s victory returned to solid form after his first round of Wimbledon exit. It was his second title of his season and the sixth title of his career. World No. 34 lifted the ATP 500 Grass Coat Trophy at Hale last month.