Alexander Bublik triumphs on clay for the first time in Gstaad – and says: “The final was an ordeal”

(sda) Alexander Bublik entered the Gstaad tournament as the number 2 seed and number 33 in the world rankings. After his sixth tournament victory, he climbed back into the world's top 30.

Bublik was the first Kazakh to win the traditional Gstaad tournament. Previous Russian winners were Mikhail Youzhny in 2013 and Yevgeny Kafelnikov in 1995. Bublik is Russian but has been playing for Kazakhstan since 2017.

"The final was an ordeal," Bublik said afterward, a beaming victor. "Before the final, everything was going perfectly for me, even though when I first trained here a week ago, I didn't have the feeling I'd be able to play well at this altitude with the high-bouncing, long-flying balls." But the early arrival and preparation paid off for Bublik. One month after winning the tournament on grass in Halle, he immediately won the next tournament.

In an entertaining and intense final, Bublik defeated Argentinian surprise Juan Manuel Cerundolo (ATP 109) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in front of star guest Martina Hingis in a packed Roy Emerson Arena. Cerundolo celebrated the most valuable victory of his career in Gstaad with a quarterfinal win over top seed Casper Ruud (ATP 13), eliminated Peruvian qualifier Ignacio Buse (6-3, 6-3) in the semifinals, and will return to the world's top 100 for the first time in two years on Monday.

Cerundolo also worked on his calling card in the Bernese Oberland. More than four years ago, he stormed onto the ATP Tour. As a teenager, he reached the final in his very first tournament at his home tournament in Córdoba. He had to wait until this week for his second final appearance.

After an hour and a half in the final, things were looking quite good for Cerundolo. The young Argentinian won the second set 6-4, and Bublik seemed irritated. However, the Kazakh improved again in the deciding set: After two hours and seven minutes, he converted his second match point.

The organizers of the Swiss Open drew a very positive conclusion. The stands were sold out on the final weekend and even on the last three days, even though no Swiss player made it into the last four.

With Jérôme Kym, a Swiss professional reached Friday and the quarterfinals for the first time since 2013. And the 38,000 fans were also thrilled by Bublik and the newcomers, after figureheads like Alexander Zverev and title holder Matteo Berrettini had to withdraw or, like Ruud, were eliminated early. Since 2019, the organizers have managed to triple the number of spectators.