Soon the top 10 for Bublik!

Just two more matches to win before we see Alexander Bublik break into the top 10. And honestly… how much do we love watching him play when he’s in this frame of mind.

He’s not there yet, but at this level, he clearly has the calibre for it. All the more so because he’ll have very few points to defend between now and the spring, which only strengthens that outlook. Against Shang, Bublik played a great match: focused, disciplined, inspired, motivated. Even when the Chinese player clearly raised his level in the second set, the Kazakh stayed solid and in full control of his game.

On his side, Marcos Giron benefited from the retirement of his compatriot Mmoh in a match he was already dominating. His flat hitting works very well here, and his forehand has been particularly effective this week. So far, he’s faced rather passive players, which has allowed him to set his own tempo and dictate the pace.

But tomorrow’s challenge will be a completely different story. Bublik is not only a much better player, but above all he’s going to confront him with a radically different style. Giron leads 3–1 in their head-to-head, but their last meeting dates back to 2023, well before this new, much more mature and committed version of Bublik.

If the Kazakh keeps playing at this level – which I can easily imagine – I see very few solutions for Marcos Giron. He doesn’t have a huge shot, nor a dominant serve, nor, in my view, the ability to raise his level very high over a long stretch. His solidity could bother Bublik at times, but it seems insufficient to me to really put him under serious pressure.