Friday’s tennis action in Newport featured two scintillating singles quarterfinals match-ups, as Alexander Bublik and Jason Kubler advanced to the semifinals of the Infosys Hall of Fame Open on another beautiful weather day at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Bublik has now reached at least the semifinals every year that he’s played in Newport, advancing today with a 7-5, 6-4 win over three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray. In the pair’s fourth meeting so far in 2022, Bublik fired 12 aces and won 82 percent of his first serve points to keep Murray at distance.
“It’s great to be in the semifinals again. My strategy was to avoid double faults, which I did, and I’m very engaged with my tennis here to play as many matches as I can,” said Bublik.
Bublik now owns an impressive 8-2 record at the Infosys Hall of Fame Open since his first appearance in 2019, when he made the final. Last year, he was defeated in the semifinals by eventual champion Kevin Anderson.
Kubler continued his impressive run in the grass court season by defeating Australian countryman James Duckworth 7-5, 7-6(3), and will play in his first career ATP Tour semifinal. After being down an early break, Kubler broke back twice to win the first set 7-5. The two traded breaks early in the second set before holding serve the rest of the way until the tiebreaker.
In doubles semifinal action, the American duo of Will Blumberg and Steve Johnson advanced to the final following a 6-4, 6-4 win over Ramkumar Ramanathan and J.P. Smith. Blumberg and Johnson, in their first tournament as a team, will face the winner of Robert Galloway/Alex Lawson and top seeds Raven Klaasen/Marcelo Melo in Sunday’s final.
Commenting on his continued doubles success in Newport after winning last year’s title with Jack Sock, Blumberg said “I’ve relaxed a bit and just have the mindset that I’m happy that I won last year. Stevie’s such a great player; it helps to have his forehand, serve and knowledge on the court, so I’m thankful to be playing with him.”
On Saturday, the second doubles semifinal will kick off play, followed by the singles semifinals. No. 4 seed Maxime Cressy and No. 2 seed John Isner will play not before 1 p.m. on Center Court, followed immediately by Bublik versus Kubler.