Alexander Bublik reaches Almaty Open quarterfinals without playing a point
Alexander Bublik is through to the Almaty Open quarterfinals on a walkover, setting up a Friday meeting with Karen Khachanov.
Why Bublik is trending
Alexander Bublik is trending because he reached the Almaty Open quarterfinals without hitting a competitive shot this week. The third-seeded Kazakh, ranked 19th, drew a first-round bye and then got a walkover over Fabian Marozsan on Thursday. Two rounds into the tournament, he has not played a point.
That puts him into a Friday quarterfinal against fifth-seeded Karen Khachanov, who took the long way around to get there. Khachanov beat Rei Sakamoto 6-2, 6-4, then needed a third-set tiebreaker to get past Tomas Machac.
The head-to-head with Khachanov
Friday will be the third meeting between Bublik and Khachanov, and the series sits even at one win apiece. Khachanov won the first one 6-4, 6-4 at the 2020 Cincinnati Masters. Bublik answered last season in Halle, winning 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.
So the Almaty meeting breaks the tie. It will happen on an indoor hard court, a surface Bublik has been attached to the bracket on all week without actually playing on it.
The form question
Khachanov, ranked 25th, is 11-3 in his last 14 matches dating back to the U.S. Open, which is part of why his name is showing up alongside Bublik's right now. Bublik's form is the open question heading into Friday, since nobody has watched him compete in Almaty yet between the bye and the walkover.
The Almaty Open's other quarterfinal Friday has top seed Daniil Medvedev facing Terence Atmane, a matchup Medvedev leads 2-0 in their past meetings. But it is the Bublik side of the draw drawing the search traffic, mostly because of how unusual his path to the quarterfinals has been.
What happens next
Bublik and Khachanov are set for Friday in Almaty with a semifinal spot on the line. There is no injury or withdrawal tied to Bublik's name right now, just a tournament quirk: a seeded player sitting in the quarterfinals of an ATP event without striking a ball.
Whatever happens Friday will be the first real look at where Bublik's game actually stands this week, since the bye and the walkover never gave anyone that look.
Facts per The Grandstand. Opinion is the taproom's.