By Alberto Amalfi | Sunday, November 28, 2021
Alexander Bublik beat Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 7-6(6) clinching Kazakhstan's conquest of Canada and a trip to the Davis Cup quarterfinals.
Photo credit: Getty
Canadian cheers echoed in his ears as Alexander Bublik stared down a set point.
A bold Bublik pressed the mute button.
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Bublik bolted 18 aces and did not drop serve dispatching Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 7-6(6) to clinch Kazakhstan's conquest of Canada—and a trip to its sixth Davis Cup quarterfinal.
After unloading the hush hammer, Bublik raised an index finger silencing skeptics inside the Madrid Arena.
A brilliant Bublik performance gave Kazakhstan an insurmountable 2-0 lead over 2019 runner-up Canada in the best-of-three-match tie. It came after Bublik's buddy Mikhail Kukushkin fought off Brayden Schnur 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-5 in the opener.
Kazakhstan, which stopped Sweden in its round-robin opener yesterday, wins Group B securing its first Davis Cup quarterfinal appearance since 2018. Kazakhstan will face the second best of the top two runners-up in the quaterfinals on Wednesday, December 1st at the Madrid Arena.
After his declarative silencing scream, Bublik paid tribute to Kazakhstan fans quoting US Open champion Daniil Medvedev's famed declaration to the Flushing Meadows faithful.
"As one legend says, when you go to sleep guys, know that I win because of you,"
Group champions from Innsbruck, Madrid and Turin and the top two runners-up advance to the quarterfinals. Kazakhstan joins Group C champion Great Britain and Group E champion Italy in the last eight.
Bublik's quarterfinal-clinching heroics came a day after he rallied past Mikael Ymer 3-6, 6-4, 6-0 to level Kazakhstan with Sweden before the duo of Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov swept Sweden's Robert Lindstedt and Andre Goeransson 6-3, 6-3 sealing its round-robin opener.