Halys makes a splash and surprises Bublik in Kitzbühel

Quentin Halysnumber 83 in the world, He won his first ATP tournament this Saturday by winning the Kitzbühel tournament (Austria), category 250, against Kazakh Alexander Bublik, top favorite of the event, 6-4 and 7-6 (6).

The 29-year-old Frenchman defeated Bublik, number eleven in the world rankings, as he did on the 17th in Gstaad (Switzerland), also ATP 250 and on clay, and It deprived him of repeating the victory achieved in the last edition in the Austrian alpine town.

If in Gstaad he beat him by three sets, after Bublik won the first, in Kitzbühel he did it in two sets with more clarity.

The Frenchman based his victory on the solidity of his service, which did not give way on any occasion. As an example of his consistency, he added four aces in the first game of the match.

The first round ran evenly until, At 5-4 for the Frenchman, he broke serve after the Kazakh came back from a set point.

In the second, Bublik tried to reactbut he did not find his best version and the tone of the game was maintained, which led to the tiebreaker.

The Kazakh led 2-0, but his opponent knew how to handle the pressure and came back to win the tie break 8-6 with the first match point.

Halys, who became the first Frenchman to win in Kitzbühel, had 17 aces, compared to six for the Kazakh, and had an 87 percent of points won with his first serve.

His first title comes two years after he starred in his first ATP final, in Gstaad in July 2024, in which he lost to the Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-1.

Bublik, 29, was aiming for his tenth ATP title, after his last one was won at the ATP 250 in Hong Kong last January against fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-6, 6-3.