Kazakhstani tennis player Alexander Bublik, together with his Australian partner Mark Polmans, advanced to the second round of the doubles at the Masters tournament of the ATP 1000 series in Madrid, reports Todayinfo.
Bublik and Polmans, as an unseeded duo, faced Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos in the first round of the doubles at the Mutua Madrid Open. In the first set, the opponents played evenly, winning their serves in the first four games. However, on the sixth rally, Bublik and Polmans made a break and took a 3:2 lead. In the next rally, they consolidated their advantage and won the set 6:3.
In the second set, the opponents scored on their serves for 12 rallies, after which the set went to a tiebreak. Here the Brazilians prevailed 7:6 (7:4). The third set was played under super tiebreak rules, and the Kazakh-Australian duo won 10:6. In the second round, Bublik and Polmans will face the tournament's fifth seeds — Marcelo Arévalo (Ecuador) and Mate Pavić (Croatia).
In singles, Bublik unexpectedly suffered a setback. The Kazakhstani tennis player, ranked 11th in the world, met Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (80th) in the second round and lost in two sets — 2:6, 5:7. This was his third loss in three meetings with Tsitsipas. Now Bublik can fully focus on doubles.
