French tennis player Quentin Halys claimed the first title of his professional career Saturday, overpowering defending champion Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the Generali Open final held in Kitzbuhel, Austria.
The 29-year-old Halys, who turned professional back in 2012, had previously reached only one other ATP final — a loss to Italy’s Matteo Berrettini at the 2024 Swiss Open. In Saturday’s victory, Halys was nearly untouchable on his first serve, winning 33 of 38 first-serve points — an 86.8% success rate — and he never had to defend a single break point during the entire match.
Bublik, the top seed, appeared to be in position to force a second set when he took a 6-5 lead in the tiebreaker and held a set point. However, Halys refused to yield, rattling off the final two points to close out the match and secure the championship.
Bublik finished with six aces of his own and managed to save five of six break points he faced. He had gone the entire week without dropping a set heading into the final, and was chasing what would have been his 10th career ATP title.
At the Estoril Open in Portugal, Belgium’s Alexander Blockx fought back to defeat Italy’s Luciano Darderi 5-7, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5) in the semifinals, earning a spot in the first ATP final of his career. The 21-year-old Blockx recorded eight aces and saved 8 of 14 break points in the hard-fought win. In the decisive third-set tiebreaker, Darderi jumped out to a 4-0 advantage before Blockx stormed back, taking seven of the final eight points to advance.
Blockx will face Luca Van Assche in the final after Van Assche posted a 6-4, 7-5 win over fellow Frenchman Hugo Gaston in the other semifinal. Van Assche won the last two games to wrap up the straight-sets victory — his first win in an ATP semifinal. At 22 years old, it will also mark the first ATP final appearance of Van Assche’s career.
