The semifinals are set in Hong Kong after another day of great tennis out there! Lorenzo Musetti and Alexander Bublik, the top 2 seeds, are still making an impression in that draw, while Marcos Giron has joined Andre Agassi in the Hong Kong history books.
- Rublev and Bublik on how ATP 250s are now also hard to win
- Musetti ends Wong’s journey
- If you like your Italian food, you know his name
SO… WHAT HAPPENED?
Rublev and Bublik would like easier draws, please and thank you
Long gone are the days when top players could pick an ATP 250 as a warm-up or an easy title to catch. Both Andrey Rublev and Alexander Bublik confirmed it on Friday, while regretting it at the same time! Like, can’t top players have it easy or even easier anymore? If they’re not named Carlos Alcaraz or Jannik Sinner, obviously.
One look at this year’s draw of the Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open illustrates the situation. Please, find us the easy matches? They’re nowhere to be seen anymore. A trend that shows the depth of the tour and also how the margins are so thin that top players feel they have to enter every draw that comes to keep their edge and their ranking points.
“I think it’s bad!” said Alexander Bublik (#11, winner of four ATP tour titles last year) when asked about how there were no easy matches anymore out there. “I prefer easy matches. I mean, I like the way tennis was five years ago, when you had a bunch of random people playing. But now it’s really like every match, it doesn’t matter who you play, a guy 300 in the world, a guy top 10, it’s still the same level besides the two guys that we all know of. So for me, for me, it’s not good (he laughs). I prefer easy matches.” He nearly had one on Friday against Shang Juncheng, but he blinked, and suddenly the Chinese player was back in the battle, with a set point in the racquet at 6-5. It took a Bublik playing lights out to not only win that first set but also to save himself from going to a third set (6-1, 7-6(2) and qualify for his 23rd ATP tour semifinal.
Andrey Rublev, the 2024 champion here, hasn’t forgotten that he was down a set during his first match in Hong Kong this year and had to dig deep to find a way through Yibing Wu. And on Friday against Nuno Borges, ranked 45 in the world, it wasn’t a walk in the park either for the World No.16 despite that straight set win (6-3, 6-4) in the quarterfinals.
“Obviously, every player wants to win at the biggest tournaments, but nowadays, even to win a Challenger, being top 20 in the world, is super tough because you have tough players there. Last year, you could find players like Marin Cilic, Fabio Fognini, or Nikoloz Basilashvili out there in these draws! And, same thing, you go to a 250 thinking there’s going to be fewer players, and then you have two guys from the Top 10, three or four more from the Top 20, and then to win those titles, OK, maybe you can have one easier match, but sometimes not even that. So it’s a smaller event, but it’s tougher sometimes to win. So you need to have really your best level ready to win even the small events.”
Case in point: Rublev, playing his 46th tour-level semifinal, will now have to go through World No.7 Lorenzo Musetti to reach an ATP 250 final. Rough for the top players who have lost a huge part of their margin on the rest of the field and now need to bring their intensity to the maximum for the first matches, thus increasing the pressure on their fitness in the long run. But such a blessing for the lucky fans in the stands who are basically guaranteed the best possible action any day they pick! And for now, the top two seeds, Musetti and Bublik, are still on a collision course for the trophy.
Musetti proved too experienced for Wong
There will be no fairytale ending in Hong Kong for Coleman Wong, as Lorenzo Musetti proved too strong in the quarterfinals (6-4, 6-4). It was again a strong showing, though, from the Hong Kong native against a Top 10 player. Up 3-1 in the second set, Wong looked ready for another upset, but it was when Musetti showed his range and his experience of the big points, as he didn’t let Wong get going.
“On this surface, he achieved a lot of great results, beating a lot of great players. So I knew today I had to be really focused and give a solid performance from the beginning to the end. I’m happy to be reaching the semis for the first time here in Hong Kong,” said the Italian. “I know that the pressure was going to be really high for him and that he would give his 110% here. I saw a little bit of disappointment after losing today, but he has a bright future ahead, so he has to keep his head up. I remember two years ago, he was really, really aggressive, but maybe he was missing a little bit too much, especially with the forehand. He started to be more offensive, but in an intelligent way now. I think with playing more and more matches at this level, he will get the experience he needs to go further.”
Wong had already put his disappointment to the side when he came to press a little while after that loss. He knew he wasn’t that far and that this week only brings good news for the future. “It’s been a tough match. Lorenzo had all the answers against my tactics today. So, credit to him. He’s a really great player. But I’ll come back stronger, and I think I can get even closer. Or even, you know, get the win next time. I have experience playing against these players, but obviously, compared to them, they have even more because they have been there for a while. I learned a lot today, and I’m in the right direction. I’m just going to get closer and closer.”
Musetti, who added Jose Perlas to his coaching team this year, already looks very solid in that first week of the season, but the top seed didn’t feel it was going to be a given when he landed in Hong Kong. “Well, you can do everything perfectly, but you never have the guarantee of starting the year well. I’ve tried to add coaches (Perlas joining Simone Tartarini) and to cover as many details as possible during the pre-season and the start of the year. But you have to play the match to experience the sensations and deal with certain points.” He’ll get another chance to test his game in the semifinals against Andrey Rublev. Someone said popcorn?
In the last match of the day, Marcos Giron confirmed his win over the defending champion Alexandre Müller (6-4, 7-6(4)) by reaching the semifinals on Friday when Michael Mmoh had to retire due to pectoral pain (6-3, 1-0). He’s reaching that stage at tour-level for the ninth time after losing six quarterfinals last year. Talk about breaking a curse! Cherry on the cake, Giron has now become the first American men’s semi-finalist in Hong Kong since Agassi won the 1999 title.
Check out SINGLES DRAW results, DOUBLES DRAW results and ORDER OF PLAY on hkmenstennisopen.com
WAIT… WHAT DID THEY SAY?
Andrey Rublev:
The match: I just like that I won the match in a straight set and I’m in the semi-final. I don’t know, on those courts, with those conditions, it’s tough to say something about the game because it’s often just two shots. You don’t even need to think about where to hit the ball. Even if you hit hard in the middle, it’s more than enough.
On facing Musetti: It’s a great test. It’s going to be a good challenge to see where my level is at, even though the conditions are nothing similar to Australia. But anyway, to play these matches, it doesn’t matter the result; it will give you confidence, especially before the Australian Open. So it’s going to be a good match for both of us.
On his mental health: I don’t know about feeling happier, but for sure these days I feel much more free, much more myself, I would say.
Alexander Bublik:
The match: I think I played well. I played solid, and in the most important moments, I delivered the best shots I could. Playing a guy that I know well, that I respect a lot, and who I knew was going to be clutch, wasn’t easy. A few balls decided the second set, when I just hit some unbelievable shots. There was a bit of luck on my side.
Shang Juncheng: He definitely improved. He was a bit unlucky as he got injured while he was a Top 50 player. His potential, I mean, for me is a Top 20, Top 10 player, if he remains healthy. So that’s what I wish him.
YOU HAVE TO SEE THAT!
When we tell you that tennis fans in Hong Kong have understood all the assignments! Look at that crowd on Friday around Karen Khachanov in the village.
COME BACKSTAGE!
Here’s Michelin-starred chef Umberto Bombana, from the infamous restaurant 8½ Otto e Mezzo Bombana, delivering his expertise and delicious menu on-site. And then also crossing his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti for the toss of the match against Coleman Wong. Stars galore!
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