Match Report | ATP Hong Kong: Breaking into Top 10 for the First Time! Bublyk Defeats Musetti to Make History

On January 11th Beijing time, the ATP Bank of China Hong Kong Open featured the men's singles final between the top two seeds, Musetti and Bublyk. After an intense 1 hour and 38 minutes battle, Bublyk triumphed with a straight-sets victory of 7-6(2), 6-3, earning his ninth tour title and achieving his debut entry into the Top 10 of the world rankings next week!

"My sole goal this season was to break into the world’s Top 10, and I achieved it in the very first week. Not only did I win the title, but I also successfully entered the Top 10," Bublyk said after the match. "If someone had told me this back in April last year, I definitely wouldn’t have believed it. I’m very happy now and hope to maintain this form."

Before this week, Bublyk was ranked No. 11 in the world. With the points earned from winning in Hong Kong, he surpassed Britain’s Draper, who was tenth, becoming the first male player from Kazakhstan to ever reach the world’s Top 10. Additionally, Bublyk is the first male player in the 2026 season to break into the Top 10 for the first time; last season, four players achieved this milestone: Draper, Musetti, Paul, and Shelton.

Since May last year, Bublyk has been one of the hottest players on the men’s tennis circuit. Although his ranking dropped as low as No. 82 in March last year, he then reached his first Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros and went on to win titles in Halle, Gstaad, Kitzbühel, and Hangzhou.

Notably, Musetti, who faced Bublyk across the net in the final, will reach a new personal milestone next week by entering the world’s Top 5 for the first time. He will become the third Italian player in ATP ranking history to reach the Top 5 (joining Panatta and Sinner), marking the first time two Italian men are simultaneously ranked in the Top 5. However, Musetti still has not ended his losing streak in tour finals; since winning two titles in 2022, he has suffered seven consecutive final defeats in 2024 at the Queen’s Club, Umag, Chengdu, and in 2025 at Monte Carlo Masters, Chengdu, Greece, and this year’s Hong Kong event.

The men’s doubles final will follow shortly, with Musetti competing in a double match day. The pairs competing are Rublev/Kachanov versus Musetti/Sonego.

(Written and edited by Wang Fei; photo source: Bank of China Hong Kong Tennis Open)