Bublik, Cressy to meet in Newport Hall of Fame Open final

NEWPORT — Two rising talents on the ATP Tour will meet in the Sunday final of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open.

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No. 3 seed Alexander Bublik and No. 4 seed Maxime Cressy will battle for the Van Alen Cup after capturing semifinal matches Saturday afternoon. Bublik swept aside Jason Kubler in straight sets while Cressy outlasted four-time champion John Isner in a three-set thriller.

Bublik needed just shy of 70 minutes to post a 6-3, 6-2 win over Kubler. His ticket to the title round at the Newport Casino was booked after Cressy used a late break of serve to oust Isner, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

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“It’s great to play in any ATP final,” Bublik said. “It’s great for your history and for your own career.”

“It’s a special feeling to be in a final,” Cressy said. “It’s been kind of a roller-coaster season for me since Melbourne. I really believe in myself and I’m confident that I can make any goal happen.”

It’s the second finals appearance here and sixth overall for Bublik, who fell in the 2019 title round to Isner. His first career win came in February at the Open Sud de France, a straight-sets victory over Alexander Zverev. A chance at his second came thanks to 15 aces and just two points lost on his first serve.

Kubler reached the fourth round at Wimbledon and was looking to extend what was a 25-4 mark stretch in tour, qualifying and Challenger matches. This was his first career semifinal and came just days after he outlasted No. 1 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in three sets. Bublik was simply too tough on this occasion and extended the recent momentum generated by players representing Kazakhstan — Elena Rybakina was a surprise women’s singles champion at Wimbledon, the first from the country to capture a Grand Slam.

“It’s a great achievement for the country,” Bublik said. “Me on the other side in the men’s, making a final again — of course not a Slam — we're really putting Kazakhstan on the map.”

Cressy held a 4-3 lead deep in the third set and earned a break point on Isner’s serve. His looping lob toward the net landed on Isner’s side and bounced backwards, crossing over the net for a second time. Isner, despite his 6-foot-10-inch frame and extended reach, couldn’t get a racquet on the ball and ultimately dropped the game.

“I really did not believe that I broke him at the moment,” Cressy said. “The ball came back on my side and I was like, ‘Is it a break?’ ”

Cressy faced two break points of his own at 15-40 before serving it out. He fired the last of his 22 aces to earn the only match point he needed, reaching his third final of the season. Cressy fell to Rafael Nadal during the Australia swing in January and to Taylor Fritz in a June primer for Wimbledon at Eastbourne.

“Stay focused as if it’s the first round, not a final,” Cressy said. “As if it was any other match. I think that’s the main focus for me tomorrow.”

bkoch@providencejournal.com    

On Twitter: @BillKoch25 

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Bublik, Cressy to meet in Newport Hall of Fame Open final