MONTE-CARLO, MONACO - APRIL 11: Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan in action against Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland during day two of the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters at Monte-Carlo Country Club on April 11, 2022 in Monte-Carlo, Monaco. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
The Halle Curse has been broken – here’s everything you need to know
Alexander Bublik has managed to break the Halle curse by becoming the first player (barring Federer) since Lleyton Hewitt in 2010 to win the first-round fixture at Wimbledon following a title-winning run at the Halle Open. Bublik the no.23, seed came back from a set down to win 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against Mackenzie McDonald of the US.
Last week, Bublik registered a historic victory against Andrey Rublev in a thrilling finale at the Halle Open and he has now won six ATP tour matches on the trot. He will face J.J Wolf of the US in the second round.
Since 2011, every men’s singles champion of the Halle Open barring Roger Federer, has suffered elimination from the first round of the subsequent Wimbledon edition. The Halle Open is treated as a warm-up event to the grass-court Grand Slam but this piece of stat shows a different picture and is popularly referred to as the “Halle Curse”. Bublik will be relieved that he has been able to break this jinx and will be looking to carry his good form deep into the tournament.
Bublik seems to have re-invented himself during the ongoing grass court season of the ATP tour. He is on a six-match winning streak going into his second-round fixture at Wimbledon. Five of his wins have come at the Halle Open last week against formidable opponents like Borna Coric, Jan-Lennard Struff, Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev and Andrey Rublev. He will look to make good use of this positive momentum and proceed deep into the Wimbledon Championships.
The Kazakhstani star hasn’t had a great year so far but he is turning things around in style. He particularly prefers playing on grass surfaces and the recent results clearly show that. He will certainly fancy his chances of progressing further at Wimbledon but there is no room for complacency. If Bublik can be at the top of his game and maintain consistency, he will definitely be a tricky opponent for the top stars at the grass-court Grand Slam.
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