Alejandro Tabilo and Alexander Bublik won the ATP 250 tournaments in Chengdu and Hangzhou which concluded with final matches played on Tuesday. Tabilo who was a qualifier in Chengdu Open, performed a significant upset over the world number 9 and top seed of Chengdu Open. The Chilean snatched the win by 6-3 2-6 7-6(5), winning in the third set tiebreak after coming back from two match points down. Bublik sealed his dominant form displayed throughout the whole week with an expected final victory over Valentin Royer, prevailing in two tiebreaks by 7-6(4) 7-6(4).
Miraculous upset in Chengdu
Tabilo has earned his place in the main draw after the showdown of three tiebreaks against Lloyd Harris in the final round of qualifiers, which lasted almost 3 hours. During the road to the final in the main tournament, he lost just one set to Christopher O'Connell in the quarterfinals and showed a comprehensive performance in the semifinals against Brandon Nakashima, facing just two pressure points on serve throughout the whole match, scoring 11 aces and winning the second set tiebreak without dropping a single point which sealed him the advance into the final. Recent two weeks were a busy time for Tabilo who approached Chengdu just after the run into the final in Guangzhou Challenger. Including Tuesday's final in Chengdu, he played 12 matches in 13 days, losing just one of them in Guangzhou's final.
Musetti was a strong favorite ahead of the final, rated with pre-match odds of 1.26. However, what Tabilo displayed on Tuesday was a definition of efficiency. The Chilean produced just one breakpoint in the whole match which granted him the first set win by 6-3. The Italian was setting up a straightforward comeback, easily winning the second set and putting instant pressure on his lower-ranked opponent. The world number 9 produced 40 pressure points on Tabilo's serve, facing just 8 on his own side. Musetti worked out three breakpoints in the decisive set and two match points on the Chilean's serve in the 12th game. Tabilo survived the pressure and forced a tiebreak which was also a bumpy road for him. He gave his all, coming back from 1-4 by winning 6 out of the last 7 points. That means the third career title for the former world number 19, who performed a huge upset over a favorite who was just a blink from snatching the victory. The circumstances of overturning the on-court advantage of Musetti will also be one of the most impressive title matches of the season.
Serving masterclass in Hangzhou
Bublik referred to his great form displayed during summer, which granted him three titles won in Halle, Gstaad and Kitzbuhel, lifting him up into the top 20 of ATP rankings. The Kazakh regrouped after the crushing beatdown served by Jannik Sinner in the round of 16 of US Open and unsuccessful Davis Cup Playoffs, where he withdrew during the match against Soonwoo Kwon. The world number 19 showed up in Hangzhou with a form which gave him an enormous run of 20 wins in 22 matches played until the Sinner clash. His draw in China was quite formidable, as Royer who is listed 88th in ATP Rankings, was the highest ranked opponent met on the road by Bublik. That does not depreciate his stunning performance over the whole week. Bublik won all of his 44 service games played, facing just 3 breakpoints on the road - including the comeback from 15-40 down in the opening game of the second set in Tuesday's final. It was the most troublesome moment of Bublik's road to his 4th title this year, which underlines how dominant was this run especially on serve.
Bublik has recorded 89% of first serve points win rate during the whole event, while today's 80% was the lowest score out of all, including the extraordinary 100% in the quarterfinal against Dalibor Svrcina. The Kazakh fired a stunning 17.5 aces per match on average. Apart from serving performance, he was also efficient enough on return, winning the crucial points when it was needed. That was displayed in today's both tiebreaks which looked like never slipping from the control of the new Hangzhou Open champion.
The run into the final performed by Valentin Royer is also worth appreciating. The Frenchman got his place in the main draw as a qualifier, performing the huge upset over tournament's top seed Andrey Rublev in the second round. That occurred not to be a fluke, as Royer continued his aggressive and effective performance in two following matches against seeded players - Learner Tien and Corentin Moutet. 13 pressure points produced against Bublik in the final was the biggest amount which the Kazakh faced this week. Both finalists were looking after their serve well enough to settle both sets no earlier than in tiebreaks. Bublik won 12 out of the aforementioned 13 pressure points on serve, while Royer won 10 out of 11 in regular service games.
Ranking movements
Alejandro Tabilo is the biggest gainer of the week, coming back to the top 100 with a hefty margin. The Chilean lifts up by 40 places to move into the 72nd spot in the ATP ranking. Bublik and Royer achieve their career's highest rankings. The Kazakh moves up to his highest ever 16th place, while Valentin Royer moves up to 76th place from 88th which was already his peak ranking so far. Musetti stays in his 9th place, missing the possible advance to 8th which could materialize with the win in Chengdu. Despite a huge disappointment in the final, 165 points earned in Chengdu strengthen the Italian a bit in the race to ATP Finals. Musetti jumps one place to 7th, being now 470 points ahead of 10th Felix Auger-Aliassime who leads the chasing pack for finals spots (9th Jack Draper ended up his season due to injury issues).