Bublik upsets Fritz, qualifier Kasatkina earns tantalising opener

12 January 2020, by Reem Abulleil

    Alexander Bublik has committed to joining his fellow players in the Aces for Bushfire Relief initiative, the 22-year-old said after his Adelaide International first round win over Taylor Fritz.

    The entertaining Kazakh slammed down 17 aces en route to a 6-4, 7-6(4) success against the fifth-seeded Fritz in tricky conditions at the Memorial Drive Tennis Centre on Sunday.

    “First of all I want to say that I feel very sorry for Australia with the bushfires right now and I’m going to jump aboard this aces thing at the Australian Open once I get there, so I want to help Australia because it’s always been treating me well,” Bublik told Channel 9.

    The world No.55 won 88 per cent of his first-serve points and saved all five break points he faced against Fritz, who showed flashes of brilliance early on in the contest, sending a tweener winner passed Bublik in just the second game.

    Bublik brought his own flair to the clash, hitting an underarm serve on set point, and winning the resulting back-and-forth at the net to take a one-set lead. He dropped just two points on his first serve in the second set and wrapped up the victory in 96 minutes.

    “It’s hot, really hot!” said a breathless Bublik after the match. “Especially in these conditions, you don’t really care about how you play, you only care if you survive. It’s been a mental game, we’ve been holding our serves until the end in the second set. I’m really happy with the win. It’s always tough to play Taylor, he’s a great player.”

    In a classy act of sportsmanship in the first set, Bublik gave a point to Fritz after the American’s serve was called fault.

    “Of course, I try to be polite, and if it’s in, it’s in,” he said later.

    Bublik is coming off of the best season of his career, in which he reached his first two ATP finals and cracked the top 50 for the first time. Looking ahead to 2020, he said: “I feel good. My only goal is to stay healthy and be able to compete, and the rest, whatever it comes.”

    Another American seed made a first round exit on Show Court 1 as Uruguayan Pablo Cuevas saved three match points in the second set on his way to a 5-7, 7-6(9), 7-6(2) victory over No.8 seed Reilly Opelka.

    In qualifying action, Frenchman Gregoire Barrere saved 15 of 18 break points to outlast Spaniard Jaume Munar 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 in a gruelling two-hour 45-minute affair and booked a spot in the main draw against American Sam Querrey. He was joined by South Africa’s Lloyd Harris, Federico Delbonis and Tommy Paul.

    In women’s qualifying, former top-10 player Daria Kasatkina eased past Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski 6-2, 6-2, and earned a main draw first round showdown with No.4 seed Belinda Bencic.

    Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic needed two and a half hours to take down Timea Babos 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 and will play No.7 seed Sofia Kenin in the opening round. Others to secure places in the main draw include Yulia Putintseva, Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Arina Rodionova.