Bublik, Auger-Aliassime and Rublev set to deny Ruud back-to-back titles at Bastide UTS Nîmes

Defending champion Casper Ruud, top two seeds Félix Auger-Aliassime and Alexander Bublik, and UTS specialist Andrey Rublev all booked their places in the semi-finals of the Bastide UTS Nîmes on Friday — the opening event of the 2026 UTS Tour.

Two of those contenders came close to a very different fate. Second seed Bublik saved three match points against Ugo Humbert (3-2: 11-18, 10-21, 17-16, 17-12, 2-0), who was ultimately beaten in Sudden Death.

A cruel paradox of the UTS format: Humbert actually won more points than his opponent across the entire match (67 to 57), yet could not prevent Bublik from turning the tide.

Sudden Death for Auger-Aliassime too, the top seed unsettled by the wind and Grigor Dimitrov’s endlessly varied game. The Canadian had to throw everything at the Bulgarian artist in the gusting conditions to get over the line (3-2: 16-10, 13-20, 11-16, 14-12, 2-1).

Ruud’s experience

Casper Ruud had earlier opened the day with his trademark composure and a rare level of aggression, asserting his status as Zeus Trophy holder on the Gardois clay. Karen Khachanov, in his first-ever UTS appearance, had started well by stealing Q1 from the Norwegian (10-9), with average rallies of 7 shots — the longest of the day. But it was the Russian who cracked over time, piling up unforced errors: 32 in total against just 20 for Ruud, including a catastrophic Q2 with 11 errors that proved the turning point (3-1: 9-10, 17-6, 14-9, 14-10).

Only Andrey Rublev was truly dominant, sweeping aside Stefanos Tsitsipas (3-0: 17-15, 16-14, 23-13). In just 36 minutes – the shortest match of the day – the Russian won all three quarter points without conceding a single one. The Greek, back at UTS after his semi-final run in New York in 2024, led 14-5 in the second quarter before letting the match slip away.

Saturday’s schedule promises to be exceptional, with two high-stakes semi-finals. Dimitrov and Khachanov will open proceedings in a classification match at 12pm, before Ruud takes on Bublik at 1pm and Auger-Aliassime faces Rublev at 2pm. Humbert and Tsitsipas meet at 3pm in the second classification match, with the final set for 4:15pm.