Hubert Hurkacz will meet Alexander Bublik in the Round of 16 at the 2022 Astana Open. The match will be played on Thursday October 6th, 2022.
World number 10 Hubert Hurkacz is the seventh seed here at the Astana Open. The Polish star has had yet another solid season but has not quite reached the heights that many thought he would after a stellar 2021. Highlights were winning the title in Halle and a runner-up finish at the Montreal Masters, and he looked in good nick in his opening round win over the dangerous Francisco Cerundolo, world number 29. Hurkacz served over 80% on his first serve and was able to overpower the Argentine, something he will be looking to do again here against the dangerous Alexander Bublik. Hurkacz is the favorite, but he is known to be a bit erratic at times and will have to rein in the unforced errors if he is to go deeper in this tournament.
Alexander Bublik is ranked 43rd in the world and has had yet another up and down season, with a 29-23 win-loss record. The Kazakh is as unpredictable as they come but is certainly capable of some fantastic tennis from time to time. This was on full display in his First Round win over Tallon Griekspoor, winning the first set 6-0 before losing the second and rebounding to win the third. He definitely has the game to trouble his next opponent Hubert Hurkacz, but the consistency and focus are what usually let him down and he will have to be at his best here to get a result.
It is always difficult to predict matches involving Alexander Bublik as he is almost literally unpredictable. He is just as likely to beat a top 20 player as he is to lose to someone outside the top 100 so it is hard to ever truly be comfortable backing him. However in this case we are going to put our bets on Hubert Hurkacz, the reliable Pole who is usually dominant on this surface. Bublik will undoubtedly make things uncomfortable for him but Hurkacz will pull away in the end, making his eighth Quarter-Final of 2022 here at the Astana Open.