Alexander Bublik won the singles title at the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open (中銀香港網球公開賽), defeating Lorenzo Musetti in the final 7-6, 6-3. Bublik was the number two seed in the tournament while Musetti was the top seed. As a result of winning the title, Bublik is now ranked No. 10 in the world while Musetti is now ranked No. 5. So it was a good week for both guys in terms of elevating their ranking.
To touch quickly on Musetti, he's still in search of his third career title on tour. It would have been huge for him to win this tournament given his struggles to win tournaments. That said, he has to be happy to leave Hong Kong with a top five ranking in the world.
As for Bublik, this title gives him some real momentum entering the Australian Open. It's the ninth title of his career and by getting a top ten ranking in the world, he has to be feeling good. He only dropped one set the entire tournament in his semifinal win over Marcos Giron (3-6, 6-4, 6-2). It was pretty smooth sailing for him. The combination of winning and winning handily is what really gives him momentum.
Looking ahead to the Australian Open, Bublik has never gotten past the 2nd round. Given that, it really is huge for him to get a title to give him some extra juice. When you are a top ten guy in the world, you are expected to at least make the 4th round at a grand slam and threaten to make the quarterfinals. If Bublik is able to have such a breakthrough this year, I think we'll be able to look back at his time in Hong Kong as the catalyst.
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