Halys produces serving masterclass to beat Bublik in Kitzbuhel for maiden ATP title

[p]"I played an amazing match today. I knew that to beat Alexander, I'd have to produce a massive performance," he said on court. [b]"My first ATP title will stay in my head forever."[/b][/p][p]It was the Parisian's second career final, after he lost in Gstaad in 2024. It was also [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/bublik-a-t0WN9vR6/halys-q-EDve8Ljh/?mid=vwJCXUxJ"]his second victory[/a] over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/bublik-alexander/t0WN9vR6/"]Bublik[/a] in eight days following a win in the round of 16 in Gstaad this season.[/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/halys-quentin/EDve8Ljh/"]Halys[/a] opened the match with four consecutive aces, one from a second serve, all fired down the middle of the court. Over 94 minutes and two sets, Halys hit 17 aces and did not allow Bublik a break point.[/p][embed guid="eca868c0-310c-4dd2-907b-adce0cfa2911" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2080999218223718491" social-type="twitter" /][p]The Frenchman had six break chances himself. He only converted one, but it was the point which saw him win the first set.[/p][p]In the second set, Halys squandered break points in the fourth and eighth games.[/p][p]Bublik had a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreak, but Bublik, on serve, saved it and won the next point to earn a match point. Bublik, on serve, then missed a drop shot.[/p][p]The player who represents Kazakhstan congratulated the winner.[/p][p][b]"I think a first career title is something special,"[/b] Bublik said.[/p][embed guid="3740d413-f83f-484a-9645-417424c9f8ed" url="https://x.com/TennisTV/status/2081001427183325264" social-type="twitter" /][p]The title will lift Halys from 83rd to 50th in the ATP rankings, not far from the career-high of 46th he reached last year.[/p]