All good things must come to an end! Even the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open. Sunday saw Alexander Bublik writing a page of history for Kazakhstan and Lorenzo Musetti losing a seventh final in a row.

• Bublik gets through the Top 10 door in style
• Musetti is not worried about that elbow and wants to keep his head up 
• Sonego shows support for his friend Musetti after they win the doubles title

SO… WHAT HAPPENED? WELL, WE GOT A WINNER!

“I used to joke about being in the Top 10 throughout my seven years in the top 50,” Bublik

Well, that’s how you join the club! Alexander Bublik played a perfect week to leave Hong Kong with not only the title but also a spot in the Top 10. The first male player from Kazakhstan to achieve the feat. The top seed did the job until the very last point, displaying powerful and daring tennis in the final against Lorenzo Musetti (7-6(2), 6-3). There were some incredible points during the final where Bublik went for all his shots and put constant pressure on Musetti, who started to clearly struggle physically in the second set. The new World No.10 was also very clutch at some turning points of the first set, saving at 4-4 and 5-5.

“It was a really, really tough match,” Bublik said to a full press room after the final. “I guess a few points decided the first set. There were really few mistakes from both ends. I was lucky with the serve in the important moments when he had break points.  So the first set was really a story of a few points making the difference, and  the second set was a bit more physical as we started having longer rallies because the temperature went down and the balls became slower. Obviously, he was a bit hurt, and I wish him a quick recovery for the Australian Open. We were both a bit shaky, losing our serves, but then I just probably played more solid in a certain moment. I got a little bit luckier. Really, very few points decided the match.”

Bublik seemed to have the crowd in his pocket all week, and so he gave back by doing the round of the stadium after the match point, signing for everybody on sight. It might have been his first time playing the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open, but he felt right at home from the get-go. “I really enjoy playing in Asia in general,” he said. “I have made the final of Chengdu, I have won Hangzhou, I have great memories throughout my life in Asia. And being here was feeling like I’m in a practice facility: I’m very relaxed, very, like enjoying a home-ish atmosphere, you know. You can walk to the site; it’s not like when you arrive with a special car, and there’s a lot of security. Here it feels safe, more home-ish, which I really liked. This probably got me to a point where I have no pressure. I really enjoyed the city, and I’m definitely going to come back.”

At 28, Bublik is clearly enjoying the best tennis of his life, winning four titles last year, being now 34-9 since Roland-Garros, and clinching his 9th ATP title on Sunday. Beating World No.7 (who will be World No. 5 on Monday) Musetti in a final right before the Australian Open is also a statement made to the rest of the field for the first Grand Slam of the year. He didn’t hide his emotions after winning that title, as it finally felt real that he was a Top 10 player. Something he used to joke about.

“I’m overwhelmed a bit. You never know how many titles you’re going to win, and I always say after each one that if it’s the last one, then I have to be really happy, because when you win on the ATP Tour, where everyone’s playing well, it’s always a gift. (…) You play for the title, which is important, and then you also play for something even bigger than this. I mean, my team and I used to joke about being in the Top 10 throughout my seven years in the top 50. Like, ‘imagine if one day I’m going to touch the top ten, ’ but we never actually thought of how to do it. We’ve always been going with the flow, going more with the enjoyment side instead of hard work and dedication. But then I dropped a bit in the ranking and realized that I don’t like to be there as it’s more demanding, and I have to play more, relax less. So then the shift came, and here we are. I achieved the joke we had, and now we need to reset, as I achieved the year’s goal in the first week of the season! We need to see what the next goal is.”

Musetti: “It was important to keep my head up.” 

Lorenzo Musetti is a Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open champion. In doubles. Qualified for both the singles and the doubles finals, the Italian couldn’t go through Bublik, but he made a lot of effort with Lorenzo Sonego to get at least one title on Sunday as they got the last word on Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov (6-4, 2-6, 10-1). So he might be on a 0-7 streak in singles finals since his second ATP title in 2022, but he has snapped the doubles one by winning a title with Sonego at his third trial.

“Of course, I was disappointed with the result of the singles match. Sasha played an unbelievable tennis today, and we were close. I know that I have the level to stay there. It was important to keep my head up. I think the best chance I could take was then to play the doubles final as I have done. That’s another step forward for me. I’m really happy to be taking the first doubles title ever in my career with a friend. He was always supporting me. He knew that I would be there, even in a tough situation like I was after a tough match and a tough loss. But I knew that I wanted to win. I wanted to take a little bit of personal revenge. I think you could see the energy that we showed in the doubles.” Indeed!

And it wasn’t a logical thing to do, as when you end up losing so many finals, it’s not easy to see the glass half full by acknowledging that it still means you reached these finals. And to bounce back right away. Lorenzo Sonego was trying to get this message through to his friend after their triumph.

“I think winning that doubles title was important for him because he reached a lot of finals in two years and is an amazing player, so it’s tough when you lose the final every time that you play. He worked hard to go to the final. He won many matches before the final. That’s really important to remember. I didn’t reach the finals like him, even if I’d wanted to. He can improve a lot in his game and then take a lot of titles. So I just want to say that he’s going to win the next finals that he plays.” 

And in the end, Musetti escaped what could have actually been a terrible day at the office when that right elbow demanded multiple interventions from the trainer during the singles final. But when the soon-to-be World No.5 showed up to the doubles final, it was the first reassuring news regarding that injury. “It’s okay. I don’t think it will bother me in the next days. I have one week to prepare really well for the Australian Open, and I saw that, physically, I felt great, so not much to worry about. I took a painkiller, yes, but it took a little bit of time to work. But I repeat, Sasha deserved the match. He just played better than me in a certain situation. Next time, we will be more prepared and more experienced.”

Musetti will still head to the Australian Open with a lot of confidence gained in Hong Kong, where he played some stunning tennis and has surely delivered with Rublev in the semi-finals, the match of the week. On Monday, he will become the third Italian in the ATP Rankings history (since 1973) to enter the Top 5 after Adriano Panatta (1976) and Jannik Sinner (2024). That looks like a great week in our book! “I really appreciated it here. It’s not the first time that I’ve come, and I really like the city and all the support I receive during the whole week. Hopefully, I will come back next year.”

COME BACKSTAGE!

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