Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik (11) defeated Slovakia's Alex Molcan (81) 6:3, 6:2 in the quarterfinals of the ATP-250 tournament in Kitzbühel, avenging a loss in Munich in April, reports infohub.kz.
On April 14 at the BMW Open-2026 tournament, Bublik shockingly lost to Molcan, then ranked 166th, 4:6, 2:6. Since then, the Slovak has significantly improved his ranking, but Bublik appears to be regaining top form. In the first set, the Kazakhstani broke serve in the sixth game, taking the set in 26 minutes. In the second set, he broke immediately, but Molcan broke back in the fourth game to make it 2:2. However, Bublik, determined to avenge his earlier loss, broke again and held to lead 4:2, then broke once more to seal the match. Final score after 1 hour 6 minutes: 6:3, 6:2. Aces: 13:1, total points won: 64:46.
Bublik needs to defend points from his title victory in Kitzbühel last year; after an early exit in Gstaad, he risks dropping two or three places in the rankings if he fails in Austria. In the semifinals, the Kazakhstani will face Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry (31), who defeated Austria's Jurij Rodionov (145) 6:2, 7:6 (7:4) and Peru's Ignacio Buse (35) 6:2, 7:5. Head-to-head: Bublik leads 2:0.
Another Kazakhstani tennis player, Alexander Shevchenko (84), lost in the first round to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff (41), 6:3, 6:7 (5:7), 4:6.
The Austrian Open tennis tournament has been known as the Generali Open since 2015. One of the oldest tennis tournaments, it has been held since 1894, exclusively for men on clay courts. Previously held in Prague, Salzburg, Pörtschach am Wörthersee, and Vienna. Prize fund: €612.5 thousand. Past winners include Pete Sampras, Goran Ivanišević, Guillermo Vilas, Thomas Muster, and other stars.