Bublik beats Rublev to win Halle title

HALLE WESTFALEN: Kazakhstan´s Alexander Bublik defeated third seed Andrey Rublev in three sets to win the biggest title of his career at the Halle Open on Sunday.

Bublik won 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in the final of the traditional Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Germany.

The Kazakh took the first set after breaking Rublev in his opening service game.

Rublev responded by winning the second set in similar fashion but Bublik raced 3-0 ahead in the decider before clinching his second ATP title. "This means the world to me, I´ve been struggling for a year and a half now. It was hard work," he said of his 95-minute triumph.

The 48th-ranked Bublik faced a difficult path to the final, making his way past Borna Coric, Jan-Lennard Struff and Jannik Sinner, before downing home favourite Alexander Zverev in the last four.