Gstaad: Bublik wins the first clay court title of his career

New Achievement Unlocked for Alexander Bublik! The Kazakh clinched the Gstaad tournament title this Sunday by defeating Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo in three sets (6-4, 4-6, 6-3).

It marks the sixth title of his career, his second in 2025, and, notably, his first on clay. He has now won titles on clay, grass, and indoor hard courts. The only surface missing from his collection is outdoor hard courts, and he’ll have a chance to complete it during the upcoming North American swing starting next week.

He is the 14th active man to pick up tour-level titles on all 3 surfaces and 2nd man representing Kazakhstan to triumph at an ATP Tour clay-court event after Golubev at 2010 Hamburg.

A quarterfinalist at Roland-Garros — his best Grand Slam performance to date — Bublik confirmed his strong form on clay by remaining unbeaten all week in Gstaad. Reaching the final without dropping a set, the 28-year-old still had to fight hard on Sunday to overcome Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

The Argentine, playing in just the second ATP final of his career, got off to a strong start by breaking Bublik in the opening game of the match. However, he quickly gave up that advantage, despite being up 40-15 on his own serve.

Bublik is back to the Top 30

The match remained tight until 5-4 in Bublik’s favor. At that point, he capitalized on a poor service game from Cerundolo — including a missed routine volley at 30-15 that could have given him two game points — to take the first set.

In the second set, Bublik lost his composure after being broken at 2-2, smashing his racket multiple times on the clay of the center court. Nevertheless, he managed to break back to level at 4-4, only to lose his serve again in a love game. Cerundolo then closed out the set, much to the delight of the Swiss crowd, setting up a decisive third set.

After dropping his first set of the week, Bublik stayed calm and stepped up his game to overpower the Argentine. With well-placed drop shots, he wore down his opponent, who cracked at 3-2. The Kazakh sealed the match with a final forehand attack.

Thanks to his successful week in Switzerland, Alexander Bublik will return to the Top 30 next week. Clearly comfortable on clay, he will continue competing on the surface with the Kitzbühel tournament starting this Monday.