Gstaad (Switzerland), July 20 (IANS) Alexander Bublik added a clay-court milestone to his 2025 European summer surge on Sunday at the Swiss Open Gstaad. The second-seeded Kazakhstani held off Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to clinch the trophy at the ATP 250 in the Swiss Alps.

Competing in his first clay final, Bublik regained his composure after a difficult second set to earn his sixth ATP Tour singles title.

Bublik is now 17-5 in tour-level matches since the beginning of the Madrid Open in mid-April, a tally that also includes an ATP 500 title run in Halle. Although he was upset in the first round at Wimbledon earlier this month by Jaume Munar, the 28-year-old bounced back in style this week by defeating Alexander Shevchenko, Francisco Comesana, Arthur Cazaux, and Cerundolo to claim the Gstaad crown, as per ATP.

Having reached the championship match on his Gstaad debut without dropping a set, Bublik carried his momentum into his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Cerundolo. Although the 28-year-old dropped serve in the opening game of the match, he immediately reclaimed the break and soon wrapped up the first set with a rock-solid display.

Bublik fended off four break points to hold in the opening game of the second set, but he soon cut a frustrated figure as Cerundolo began to wear him down in extended rallies. Although the Kazakhstani rallied from a breakdown to level at 4-4, he immediately dropped serve again, and his opponent made no mistake in serving out to force a deciding set.

Those mid-match struggles did not stop Bublik from turning on his best level again for the decider, however. The second seed’s greater power from the baseline came to the fore once again, and he won all 16 points behind his first serve in the third set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, en route to completing a two-hour, eight-minute victory.

Bublik will on Monday re-enter the Top 30 of the ATP Rankings as a result of his Gstaad title run. The Kazakhstani’s red-hot form contrasts starkly with the way he began 2025 — Bublik was 3-10 for the year before Madrid in April, and he was as low as World No. 82 as recently as mid-March.

–IANS

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