Bublik Foils Tiafoe in Five Dramatic Sets at Wimbledon

Alexander Bublik showed off his recent composure and maturity to outlast the in-form Frances Tiafoe to book his place in the Sweet Sixteen of Wimbledon.

The 10^th seeded Bublik outlasted the 17^th seeded Tiafoe in a thrilling evening encounter on Court No. 1 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(11), 4-6, 6-3 in a match that took over four hours.

“There are always special matches that stick in your head forever. I think this will be a very special one for me. It’s an amazing court. We had a great battle. This match will stay with me forever,” Bublik said afterwards.

Tiafoe, who recently won the Halle warm-up tournament, looked perhaps poised to make a deep run at this year’s Wimbledon. But Bublik, a former Halle winner himself, proved once again that his style of tennis is very suited to the lawns.

The pivotal moment in the match came in the third set tiebreak with both men fighting to secure a two sets to one lead.

Bublik would save nine set points in the breaker before eventually sealing in 7-6(11).

After the roof was closed, Tiafoe managed to take the fourth set and force a decider. 

While Bublik kept his usual “trick” shots, to a minimum, he did serve up this one late in the fourth set.

Yet it was Bublik’s serve that proved crucial down the stretch. Serving at 81% first serves for the match, Bublik eventually took a key serving break early in the final set.

From there, on the strength of 48 aces total, including one at match point, Bublik secured the hard fought five set victory.

For Tiafoe, it will be a difficult loss to swallow given that he had a 9-1 record on grass before this match.

Next up for Bublik is No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz.