Bublik clinches Hong Kong crown, set to crack Top 10

Alexander Bublik captured his ninth ATP Tour title and fifth since June on Sunday at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open where he overcame Lorenzo Musetti.

The second seed soaked up Musetti’s variety and used his big baseline game to inflict his own damage on the Italian, earning a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory. Bublik will make his Top 10 debut in the PIF ATP Rankings on Monday following his title run, becoming the first Kazakhstani man to crack the Top 10.

«The only goal for this season was to achieve the Top 10 and in the first week I have won the title and I am into the Top 10,» Bublik said. «If you had told me that last April I would never have believed you. But it is a pleasure and I hope to continue in the same way.»

Bublik enjoyed a standout second half of last season, lifting trophies in Halle, Gstaad, Kitzbuhel and Hangzhou. In his first event of the new year, the 28-year-old continued from where he left off, dropping just one set at the ATP 250 in Hong Kong.