Bublik Defeats Machac and Reaches Semifinals of ATP 500 Halle Tournament

A day after his impressive victory over Jannik Sinner (3-6, 6-3, 6-4), a confident Alexander Bublik faced world No. 23 Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 Halle tournament.

The Czech, for his part, had previously eliminated Jesper De Jong (7-5, 3-6, 6-3) and then Fabian Marozsan (6-2, 6-3) in earlier rounds. This match promised to be spectacular between two players who excel on grass.

Before this clash, the two had already met in the first round of Dubai last year, where the Kazakh managed to turn the match around to win (2-6, 6-3, 7-6).

This time, they didn’t need a third set to decide the winner. Following his standout performance against the world No. 1, Bublik—who won the Halle tournament in 2023—claimed a tightly contested first set.

Dominant on serve since the start of the tournament, the 28-year-old then secured an early break in the second set. With another 15 aces, 28 winners, and 14 unforced errors, he confirmed his prestigious win over Sinner and reached the semifinals of this tournament for the second time in his career after a second break and a 1-hour, 22-minute victory (7-6, 6-3).

The first time he made it to the final four on German grass, he lifted the trophy—two years ago against Rublev, in his debut year at Halle. He will now face Karen Khachanov or Tomas Martin Etcheverry for a chance to return to the final.