On Feb. 11, Kazakhstani tennis players Alexander Bublik (World No. 10) and Elena Rybakina (World No. 3) won thrilling matches in their runs at the ATP 500 ABN AMRO Open and WTA 1000 Qatar TotalEnergies Open, respectively.
Bublik, who withdrew from doubles, faced Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz (No. 70) in singles and defeated him in three tight sets, 6-2(2-7), 7-6(7-1), 7-5.
Despite the ranking gap, Bublik had trailed 1-6 in his head-to-head record against Hurkacz. The match was expected to be a challenge following Bublik’s recent Davis Cup defeat against Monaco.
In the first set, Bublik lost a tiebreak 2-7, marking his fifth tiebreak loss after a streak of four in Astana.
The opponents played 20 games without breaks. Hurkacz then broke at 4-4 in the second set and served for the set. Bublik broke back, and the set went to a tiebreak, which he won 7-1.
There was no tiebreak in the third set. After being broken at 5-5, Hurkacz nearly broke back immediately. Leading 40-15, Hurkacz ultimately lost the game, set and match.
In the second round, Bublik will face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff (No. 82).
The ATP 500 Rotterdam Open, currently officially known as the ABN AMRO Open, was established in 1972. The total prize money is approximately $2,930,565.
Meanwhile, Rybakina defeated China’s Qinwen Zheng (No. 26), the 2024 Paris Olympics gold medalist, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.
In the first set, Zheng took control, using strategic shot placement and frequent net approaches to put pressure on Rybakina. After Rybakina was broken in the fifth game, she was unable to break back, and the set ended 6-4 in Zheng’s favor.
Despite the absence of her coach Stefano Vukov in the coaching box, Rybakina found a chance to turn things around. After breaking in the fourth game of the second set, she held her serve to take the set 6-2.
Rybakina controlled the third set, though she briefly raised concern by not serving for the match at 5-3. She ultimately converted her second match point to win in 2 hours 27 minutes, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5.
To advance to the semifinals, Rybakina will face Canada’s Victoria Mboko (No. 13).
The WTA Qatar Open, established in 2001 and currently known as the Qatar TotalEnergies Open, has total prize money of $4,088,211. The singles champion will receive $385,000, while $110,000 will be shared by the winning doubles pair.
