Ten hours. That’s all it took for Alexander Bublik‘s world to be turned upside down at the Almaty Open. The Kazakh was having one of his best weeks on the Tour, as he was making an excellent run in his home event in Almaty, where he had just beaten Karen Khachanov in a tremendous three-set match to reach the semifinals. However, winning the match came at a cost, ending the third seed’s run in the tournament.
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“You win one of the best matches of the season in your home country, at the tournament you’ve always wanted to play, and in ten hours you go to the hospital for an MRI,” said Bublik in his post-match press conference after having retired from his semifinal match. “But that’s what sport is about. That’s what makes you tough.”
By his own admission, Bublik sustained his knee injury just two points away from winning the match against Khachanov, while the home favorite had a 5-4 lead in the third-set tiebreak. The Kazakh got over the line, but the damage was done, as was clear when he took the court in his semifinal match against Daniil Medvedev with heavy taping on his right knee.
Going against medical advice, Bublik tried to give it his all against the Russian in the semifinal for the fans, but with compromised movement it was a tall order against Medvedev, who has come into the indoor season on the back of a title and two semifinal appearances during the Asian swing. Not to mention, the former World No. 1 was the defending champion in Almaty. The opening set of the match was over soon, with Medvedev winning the first set 6-3 in just 21 minutes. That was enough for Bublik to put a stop to his heroic effort, as the home favorite retired from the match immediately after losing the first set.
Even Medvedev was cognizant of his opponent’s struggles, as the defending champion and top seed had kind words for Bublik after the match.
“I hope it’s nothing serious,” said Medvedev in his on-court interview. “I could see from the start of the match that he was struggling to move, so I needed to continue to try to win because, you know, that’s the only way on the tennis court. But I hope it’s nothing serious and that he can come back as soon as possible.”
Bublik has largely been lucky with injuries, with the Kazakh having been durable for most of his career. He has been mindful of his schedule, often skipping important events to give himself time to reset and spend time with his family instead of grinding himself to dust on the Tour.
However, such a situation happened to the former World No. 10 in 2021. Back then, Bublik injured himself in the Antalya Open semifinal against Jeremy Chardy but still won the match. Having lengthy sessions with the physio, he gave his best to play in the final against Alex de Minaur, but could not push through, retiring after just two games in the first set.
Bublik’s current injury has all but put the rest of his season in jeopardy, with the Kazakh already withdrawing from his next event, while Medvedev will be gearing up for another title on Sunday.
Alexander Bublik Withdraws From the Next Event While Daniil Medvedev Gets Ready for Another Final
Bublik already pulled himself out of his next tournament at the Swiss Indoors, where the Kazakh was set to play home favorite Dominic Stricker in the first round as the seventh seed. His withdrawal meant Casper Ruud got the ninth seeding, with the Norwegian now set to face Stricker. There’s still time for the Paris Masters, but given the nature of his injury, it looks unlikely that Bublik will take part, which would affect his ranking, as the Kazakh reached the semifinals in Bercy last year.
On the other hand, Medvedev would face Nikoloz Basilashvili in the final in Almaty on Sunday, with the Russian looking for his fourth title of the season. Even though the former World No. 1 has 24 Tour-level titles in his resume, this would be the first successful title defense of his career, should he win the upcoming final.
The win will also put Medvedev in a great position to qualify for the ATP Finals. Currently sixth with 3585 points in the Race Rankings, the former World No. 1 will surpass Flavio Cobolli to go up to fifth on the rankings if he wins Sunday’s match.