Alexander Bublik captured his first career ATP title in five tries as he stunned No. 3 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3 at the Open Sud de France in Montpellier on Sunday.
The German Zverev, the top seed, had cruised through the tournament but ran into a confident Bublik, the No. 6 seed. Bublik, of Kazakhstan, also defeated Zverev in Rotterdam last season.
On Sunday, Bublik won 86 percent of his first-serve points, hit eight aces and converted four of eight break chances in the 70-minute match. He is now 7-2 on the 2022 season.
Zverev was attempting to win his 20th tour-level title. He won in Montpelier in 2017, the most recent time he competed there.
Tata Open Maharashtra
Portugal’s Joao Sousa won his first ATP tour title in four years, defeated sixth-seeded Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland 7-6 (9), 4-6, 6-1 in Pune, India.
It was the first tour final for Ruusuvuori, who took a 5-3 lead in the first set but double-faulted twice while serving for the win to let Sousa back into the set. In the tiebreaker, Sousa finally won as he converted his fourth set point on an unforced error by Ruusuvuori.
The Finn fought back in the second set, however. Sousa quickly went up 4-1, but Ruusuvuori won the next five games to force a third set in the two-hour, 43-minute match.
Sousa broke Ruusuvuori’s serve twice in the final set on the way to his first tournament championship since Estoril in 2018.
–Field Level Media