Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik will meet in the semifinals of the Almaty ATP 250 after both won their quarterfinals on Friday. Bublik, the No. 3 seed, came from a set down to beat No. 5 seed Karen Khachanov 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5). Medvedev, the top seed and defending champion, beat Terence Atmane of France 6-4, 6-4.

Bublik wins the tiebreaks

Bublik had not played a match all week: he had a first-round bye, then received a walkover when Fabian Marozsan withdrew ill. He showed no rust. Khachanov saved two break points at 1-2 in the first set, and Bublik saved two at 2-2 before Khachanov broke late and took the set.

From there, the server dominated. Bublik won the second-set tiebreak on a service winner. In the third he looked the stronger player, earning two break points at 3-3 and pressing again at 4-4 while holding comfortably. In the deciding tiebreak, a backhand down the line followed by a forehand volley gave him the edge. He finished with 21 aces, on the tenth anniversary of his decision to represent Kazakhstan.

“It could have gone both ways, because it’s such a close match and we’re both great servers,” Bublik said. “I just maybe used the chances slightly more, when I hit this backhand down the line. All the credit to him, because it could have gone either way.”

Bublik, ranked No. 19, now leads Khachanov 2-1. He reaches his first semifinal at the event since 2021, when it was held in Astana. Khachanov, the 2024 champion, had saved five match points to beat Tomas Machac on Thursday.

Medvedev untouchable on serve

Medvedev, ranked No. 5, did not face a break point against Atmane. He converted two of his eight break chances: at 3-3 in the first set and at the start of the second. He did not lose a point in his last two service games, and he now leads Atmane 3-0 after their meetings at the 2024 Australian Open and at Halle this June.

“Passing shots were great, serve was great, zero break points to save,” Medvedev said. “Even if I broke him only once in both sets, I had opportunities to break him more, so that puts a lot of pressure on the opponent.”

Medvedev, sixth in the Race to Turin, is two wins from the first title defense of his career. He leads Bublik 6-1 in their head-to-head, but Bublik won their most recent meeting, the 2025 Halle final, 6-3, 7-6 (4).