Alexander Bublik continued to make hard work of his progress into the Rotterdam semi-finals as he set up a match with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The world number ten has beaten Hubert Hurkacz, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Jaume Munar at the Rotterdam Open, but he’s needed the full three sets in every match.
Bublik has won more matches than anyone else in 2026, and he’s already won a title at the Hong Kong Open.
After defeating Munar to confirm his place in the Rotterdam Open semi-final, Bublik was full of praise for his Spanish opponent.
Alexander Bublik hails ‘unbelievable’ Jaume Munar after Rotterdam win
Bublik needed a deciding set tie-break to continue his winning streak at the Dutch tournament against a very impressive Munar.
Bublik was stunned by the level of his opponent and even said he was better in aspects than his compatriot Carlos Alcaraz.
Speaking on court after the match, Bublik said: “He played unbelievable. I faced him last time at Wimbledon. He is, I guess, the only Spanish [player] who can serve and volley that well.
Do you believe Carlos Alcaraz is already the greatest tennis player of all time?
“I was surprised. When you play him, you know that all the balls will come back, everything. So the grand plan was to, of course, get the winners, to shorten the points.”
Munar has already reached two ATP-level quarter-finals in 2026, so it’s easy to see why Bublik was so delighted to pick up the victory.
Bublik will now be hoping to turn around his negative head-to-head record with Auger-Aliassime to reach the Rotterdam Open finals.
Bublik has won just two of his six matches against the Canadian, with his last victory coming in Montpelier in 2024.
Alexander Bublik hits impressive milestone at the Rotterdam Open
Bublik had plenty of reasons to smile after finding a way to defeat Munar, and not just because he reached yet another semi-final.
The star’s victory against the Spaniard was his 200th win on the ATP Tour, which he surely wouldn’t have thought he would reach so soon after his miserable form at the beginning of 2025.
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Since Roland Garros, the Kazakhstani player has picked up 41 victories and just 11 defeats, in a run which has brought him five ATP titles.
Bublik has joined the likes of 287: Alcaraz, Auger-Aliassime, Frances Tiafoe, Denis Shapovalov, Hurkacz, and Tommy Paul of players from his generation (born 1997 and onward) to reach 200 victories.
