Preview Hangzhou Open Final: Alexander Bublik seeks fourth title of the season against surprising Valentin Royer

Everything is set for a new final at the start of the Asian swing, with the conclusion of the ATP 250 Hangzhou Open, one of the tournaments that kicked off the hardcourt season in China. The favorite is the third seed Alexander Bublik, who will face a surprise finalist: Valentin Royer—a qualifier who is playing in his first ATP final.

The Kazakh has maintained a remarkable form in recent months and has not slowed down, being one of the most consistent players. He returns to his fourth final of the season—reaching finals on all surfaces—after defeating local wildcard Wu Yibing.

He will face the Frenchman Valentin Royer, who eliminated several tough names along the way, including Andrey Rublev and Corentin Moutet, to reach his first-ever ATP final. Against Bublik, he will look to pull off another surprise as he prepares for the biggest jump in his ranking so far. For now, he has already secured his place as world No. 75 starting next week, while a win would propel him to No. 62.

Alexander Bublik has joined Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, and Alexander Zverev as the only men to advance to tour-level finals on all three surfaces this season, in addition to reaching what is his fourth final of the season. The Kazakh won clay titles in Gstaad and Kitzbühel and won the ATP 500 Halle Open on grass. This time, at an ATP 250 hardcourt event, Bublik looks to maintain the impeccable form he has had since his participation in Roland Garros, where he reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinals.

In his last five tournaments, Bublik has won three titles—in addition to a great run to the fourth round of the US Open (losing to Jannik Sinner)—and has only had one major surprise, in the first round of Wimbledon, where he was eliminated by Jaume Munar.

This week in Hangzhou, he arrived as the third seed and has lived up to his billing as a favorite. He defeated Aleksandar Vukic in three sets and then dominated in the following rounds against Dalibor Svrčina and Wu Yibing, both in straight sets. The Kazakh will play in the 15th final of his career, a remarkable achievement, with seven titles won and seven finals lost so far. This time he will be looking for his first title in Asia after losing in the finals of Chengdu in 2019 and Singapore in 2021.

One of the surprises of recent months has been the emergence of Valentin Royer, a 24-year-old Frenchman who had not reached the top 100 until this year. After consistently competing in Challenger tournaments for most of his career, he made his Wimbledon debut with a notable victory against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the first round, grabbing attention at the start of the action at the All England Club.

This time in Hangzhou, he is once again grabbing attention after six consecutive victories—coming from the qualifiers—that will see him enter the top 100 for the first time in his career. Along the way, he has defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic, Andrey Rublev, Learner Tien (seventh seed), and Corentin Moutet (fourth seed), the latter in a straightforward straight-sets victory. Royer has defeated rivals who were considered favorites in his path, pulling off one surprise after another, and he will look to crown a dream week in his first ATP final against Bublik. This year he has already won two consecutive Challenger titles.