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Alexander Bublik continued his impressive start to 2021 on Saturday, when he defeated Radu Albot 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the Singapore Tennis Open.
Bublik claimed 87 percent of his service points in the deciding match (20/23) and scored 12 aces to reach his second final of the year. The Kazakh, who withdrew from last month’s Antalya Open final with a right ankle injury, now owns a 9-3 record in 2021.
After losing the first set in less than 30 minutes, Bublik claimed the first breaks in the second and third sets by taking time away from his opponent with powerful returns and regular net approaches. The fourth seed grew in confidence throughout the game on serve and reached his fourth ATP Tour final (0-3) after 90 minutes.
Bublik’s victory guarantees a first ATP Tour champion in Singapore. Earlier in the day, Australian Alexei Popyrin defeated 18-time circuit champion Marin Cilic 7-6 (5), 7-6 (2) to reach his first ATP Tour championship match.
Competing in his first tour-level semi-final, the 21-year-old rallied from 1-4 in the first set and kept his nerve in two tiebreaks to eliminate the former world No. 3 in just under two hours. Popyrin hit 15 aces en route to his seventh win in nine games this season.
“It feels amazing [to be in my first ATP Tour final]. I have sacrificed a lot, ”Popyrin said. “I’ve worked really hard all my life to be in an ATP Tour final and now I’m finally in one. It feels amazing. All the sacrifices that my family and I have [made are] finally paying off. “
Cilic was trying to walk away a victory from his 19th trophy on the circuit. The 2014 US Open champion owns eight ATP Tour crowns on indoor hard courts.
Bublik and Popyrin will meet for the first time at the tour level in Sunday’s final. In their only previous meeting on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2018, Popyrin rallied from a set down to defeat Bublik 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in Astana.
