Halle 2023 Final: Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Bublik preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick | Terra Wortmann Open
Match Details
Fixture: (3) Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Bublik
Date: June 25, 2023
Tournament: Terra Wortmann 2023.
Round: Final
Venue: Halle, Germany.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Grass.
Prize money: €2,345,130.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Bublik preview
Third seed Andrey Rublev will take on Alexander Bublik in the final of the Terra Wortmann Open on Sunday.
The Russian booked his place in the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 tournament with wins over Wu Yibing and Yannick Hanfmann. He then came back from a set down to defeat Tallon Griekspoor 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and set up a semifinal clash against Roberto Bautista Agut on Saturday.
The Russian broke serve twice in the opening set to win it 6-3 against the Spaniard. The second set was tightly contested, with both players exchanging breaks at the start. The scores were tied 4-4 when Rublev held his serve before breaking Bautista Agut in the final game of the match to win 6-4.
Alexander Bublik, meanwhile, entered the Terra Wortmann Open unseeded and booked his place in the quarterfinals with wins over Borna Coric and Jan-Lennard Struff.
The Kazakh faced fourth seed Jannik Sinner in the last eight and won a tightly-contested opening set 7-5. He led 2-0 in the second before the Italian was forced to retire from the match due to injury. Bublik thus reached the semifinals, where he faced ninth-seed Alexander Zverev.
The Kazakh broke serve in the fourth game of the first set and this was enough to see him win 6-3 and take the lead in the match. Both players held their serve in the second set as the scores were tied at 5-5. Bublik then made the decisive break in the next game before holding his serve to reach his first final of the 2023 season.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Bublik head-to-head
Rublev leads 3-0 in the head-to-head between them. The last meeting between them came in the Round of 16 of the 2020 ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, with the Russian winning 7-5, 6-3.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Bublik odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Andrey Rublev vs Alexander Bublik prediction
Rublev will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win given his recent run of form as well as his perfect head-to-head record so far against Bublik. That said, the Kazakh is very much capable of giving the Russian a run for his money if he is at his best.
Rublev was very strong on his first serve in his semifinal against Bautista Agut, serving 12 aces and winning 33 out of 41 points. He also hit 29 winners in comparison with a meager nine unforced errors.
The 25-year-old's serve has looked very strong lately and breaking him will be difficult for Bublik. Rublev's forehand, on-court movement, and composure will also come in very handy.
Alexander Bublik's serve is his biggest weapon and he produced 14 aces and won 32 out of 34 first-serve points in his semifinal against Alexander Zverev. The Kazakh also served seven double faults. He will have to be careful against Rublev, who won 57% of his second return points in his previous match.
A very encouraging statistic for Bublik is that he hit 35 winners while accumulating only 11 unforced errors in his semifinal. He will have to produce another service masterclass while looking for the odd decisive break in Sunday's final.
Rublev has looked in very good touch at the moment. Looking at his performances, he should be able to get the win on Sunday and lift his maiden grass-court singles title.
Pick: Rublev to win in straight sets.