Alexander Bublik has just clinched the fifth ATP Tour win of his career in Halle, where he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final.
Medvedev felt he was playing great in Halle, with second seed Alexander Zverev having been among his victims.
But third seed Medvedev met his match in the final in Germany, where Bublik secured a 6-3, 7-6(7-4) victory.
He clinched his first ATP title of the season with the success, which has arrived just before Wimbledon gets underway.
Bublik has soared 15 places to 30th in the world rankings following his Halle win, with Medvedev climbing two spots into ninth.
Photo by CARMEN JASPERSEN/AFP via Getty ImagesBoris Becker praises Alexander Bublik for what he said about Daniil Medvedev
Halle champion Bublik praised Medvedev right after their final, saying in his winning speech: “First of all, Daniil, I’ve been cursed to play you forever and never won a set in my life today I’m happy to get through. You’re a great champion, I wish you a lot of success.
“To beat you here it’s a privilege for me. You’ve been working with your team forever, have been winning slams and I wish you a lot more success and a lot more slams.”
Daniil Medvedev vs Alexander Bublik head-to-head
And those words have now been praised by tennis legend Boris Becker, who was in attendance for the match.
Reacting to the comments, he wrote on X: “Wonderful words from Sascha about his long-time nemesis! Well done playing and talking…”
Alexander Bublik joins exclusive group after Halle final win over Daniil Medvedev
Bublik battled extremely hard to finally overcome Medvedev, representing his first career win over the Russian.
He needed 81 minutes to topple his opponent, with the iconic Becker having been on hand to award the Kazakhstani ace his prize on court.
It was the fourth seeded player he was drawn against at the ATP 500 event, with that list including world number one Jannik Sinner.
Bublik knocked the top seed out in the round of 16, and followed that up by knocking out seventh seed Tomas Machac and eighth seed Karen Khachanov.
Multiple Halle champions
And he’s now joined an exclusive group thanks to the success, with the 28-year-old now just one of four players to win the tournament on more than one occasion.
Having also succeeded in 2023, he has followed in the footsteps of Roger Federer, Yevgeny Kafelnikov and Tommy Haas.