Bublik Downs Garin In Florence For 100th Win

Alexander Bublik added another win to his impressive indoor record in 2022 on Tuesday at the UniCredit Firenze Open, but this one carried a little extra meaning for the Kazakh.

The seventh seed’s 7-5, 6-2 victory against Cristian Garin at the ATP 250 event in Florence was his 100th tour-level victory. Bublik fired 37 winners and broke the Chilean’s serve three times to notch a Tour-leading 14th indoor win of the season.

“I played a good match, I stayed solid, I served well,” said Bublik after his 87-minute triumph. “The conditions fit me well, the court is quite fast, so I’m pleased with my game and let’s see what goes on after.”

As he celebrates reaching the 100-win milestone at the age of 25, Bublik emphasised his determination to continue working hard as he bids to improve on his career-high of No. 30 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. The Kazakh achieved that position after lifting his maiden ATP Tour trophy in Montpellier in February.

“I do believe you must improve every day, and improve everything, so I wouldn’t find a specific thing that I need to improve,” said Bublik. “But I think the overall game, if I can stay solid, stay disciplined, I think we can talk about something bigger.”

Bublik’s next test in Florence is a second-round matchup against Corentin Moutet, who came through a tough three-setter against #NextGenATP Italian Flavio Cobolli on Monday night.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mikael Ymer cruised into the second round with a 6-1, 6-2 triumph against Tim van Rijthoven.

The highest-ranked Swede in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Ymer enjoyed the biggest win of his career in mid-September against then-World No. 11 Jannik Sinner in the Davis Cup Finals Group Stage. He backed up that result by reaching his seventh tour-level quarter-final on the indoor courts in Metz, and the 24-year-old will seek to make it eight quarter-finals when he meets fifth seed Aslan Karatsev in the second round in Florence.