Bublik upsets top seed De Minaur, through to UTS New York final

Bublik will play La Monf in the final, and also qualifies for the UTS Grand Final now

Alexander Bublik (c) UTS

August 24, 2024

Alexander “The Bublik Enemy” Bublik defeated Alex “The Demon” de Minaur 3-1 in the UTS New York semi-finals on Friday, ousting the top seed 19-12, 13-16, 16-14, 18-11 to make the final at Forrest Hills Stadium in New York.

He will face Gael “La Monf” Monfils in the final on Friday evening, with both UTS veterans playing for their maiden title in the format. The win also sees Bublik qualify for the UTS Grand Final in London later this year.

“His nickname is The Demon, he actually sucks your soul out,” said an exhausted Bublik after the match.

“If there is a certain UTS god, then he really wanted me to win today. It was pure luck. If there is a UTS god, thank you!

“I had everything today, all the lines, all the shots… This crazy VAR.

“It’s a nice lead up to the Open, I try to get as many match wins under my belt.”

Bublik rides luck while The Demon battles errors

In the opening quarter, the Bublik Enemy came out like a player looking to make his first-ever UTS final, racing out to a 13-3 lead as De Minaur sprayed shots wide. While The Demon found his range somewhat, Bublik was still able to win comfortably, grabbing a one-quarter lead.

The second quarter was a much tighter affair. A lung-busting 23-shot rally at 10-9 saw Bublik level the quarter at 10-10. However, the timing of each player’s UTS card again made a difference in New York.

The Demon played his card successfully to go ahead 14-11, while the next point the Australian was able to defuse Bublik’s gaining a handy 15-11 lead. The Bublik Enemy was able to whittle that down to 15-13 at quarter-point, but it was not enough as De Minaur took the quarter 16-13 to level the match at a quarter apiece.

Luck was on Bublik’s side in the third quarter, which saw momentum swing back and forth between the two. At one stage the Kazakh led 10-4, but quarter-point came at 15-14.

He only needed one, however, rocketing down a let serve that got him an error from De Minaur.

“I’m still very, very annoyed I lost that,” declared the Aussie between quarters, who had fluffed several forehands right on top of the net.

UTS is known for its round-the-post shots given the lack of tram lines on a UTS court, but the fourth quarter brought the most action a net post has seen on the tennis court this year.

At 8-7, Bublik fired a shot into the netcord, which sat up, bounced on the post, then onto the base of the post, before going into the court on De Minaur’s side. The VAR was called, who judged that the base of the post counts as in, awarding the point to The Bublik Enemy.

The call clearly remained in De Minaur’s mind, as the Australian fell off the pace and lost the quarter 18-11 to crash out of the tournament.

Earlier in the tournament, Bublik defeated Stefanos “El Greco” Tsitsipas 3-2 to make the semi-finals, while The Demon races past Denis “Shapo” Shapovalov in straight quarters on Thursday.