Alexander Bublik arrived at the Open 13 Provence chasing his maiden tour-level win of the 2023 season. The Kazakhstani dug deep to get the job done on Monday, when he rallied to a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 first-round victory against Filip Krajinovic in Marseille.
Bublik engineered the turnaround with a late break of Krajinovic’s serve in the second set and two early breaks in the third. Although the 25-year-old was then broken once himself as his lead in the decider was cut to 3-2, Bublik held firm to clinch a two-hour, nine-minute triumph in which he sent down 18 aces.
With the win, Bublik extended his ATP Head2Head series lead against Krajinovic to 2-0. The pair’s previous clash also came on an indoor hard court in southern France, with Bublik a straight-sets winner in the Montpellier semi-finals last year en route to claiming his maiden ATP Tour title.
The World No. 50 will seek to build on Monday’s win in a second-round meeting with eighth seed Marc-Andrea Huesler or Gregoire Barrere. Bublik is competing at the ATP 250 in southern France for the second time, having reached the semi-finals on tournament debut in 2020.
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Former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, who first competed in Marseille 15 years ago, also moved on. The Swiss star clawed past Belgian Zizou Berga 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-4 after two hours and 31 minutes.
“It was a tough match against a great player. It was a big fight,” Wawrinka said. “I’m happy to get through. The first one is never easy. [It is] a new week, new tournament, different conditions. You have to fight through it [and] stay positive. I’m happy with the win.”
The 37-year-old was cool under pressure, saving all seven break points he faced against the World No. 132. Wawrinka will next face seventh seed Richard Gasquet or another Frenchman, qualifier Laurent Lokoli.
Earlier in the day, Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Luca Van Assche played out two contrasting sets in front of their home fans. The first featured five breaks of serve and the second just one break — in the 12th and final game — but it was Bonzi who prevailed in both.
The 26-year-old’s 7-5, 7-5 victory booked him a second-round clash against fifth seed Maxime Cressy or another Frenchman, wild card Geoffrey Blancaneaux. The World No. 60 Bonzi is now 4-2 in Marseille, having reached the semi-finals there a year ago.
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