Alexander Bublik has again had to win the hard way, losing the first set before rallying to beat Borna Coric 5-7 6-2 6-3 and win his fourth career title at the Open Sud de France in record-breaking fashion.
The second-seeded Kazakh dropped the first set in every match he played at the indoor tournament in Montpellier and becomes the first player ever to win an ATP tour event after going a set down in each round.
"I was on the verge of losing in my opening round - now here I am standing with the title," Bublik, who also won the tournament in 2022, told the crowd on Sunday (Monday AEDT).
"Maybe if I continue playing like this, I will have more of my pictures here (in the arena), so I'm really happy."
Bublik blew a 4-1 lead in the first set to give the fourth-seeded Coric a chance to clinch his fourth career title and first indoors.
But Bublik's big serve gave him 19 aces and helped him win 80 per cent of his first-serve points.
Bublik will jump four places to reach a career-high of 23rd when the latest ATP rankings are released on Monday.
