Daniil Medvedev secured his place in the Almaty Open final after his last-four clash against Alexander Bublik on Saturday was cut short as the latter was forced to retire due to injury. 

Tournament top seed Medvedev was leading 6-3 when home favourite Bublik was unable to continue due to a knee injury, bringing the contest to a premature end after just 22 minutes. 

Medvedev will now face qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili in Sunday’s final, where he will look to defend his title. 

Basilashvili had earlier booked his place in his first ATP Tour final in four years, overcoming favourite Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 6-7(5) 6-3 within two hours and 17 minutes. 

"I just hope it's nothing serious," Medvedev said about Bublik's injury after the match was cut short.  

"I could see at the beginning of the match that he was struggling to move, so I needed to continue to try to win, because that is the only way on the tennis court.  

"But I just hope it’s nothing serious and hopefully he can come back as soon as possible." 

Elsewhere in Lyon, Lorenzo Musetti sealed a thrilling 4-6 6-2 7-5 semi-final win over compatriot Flavio Cobolli to advance to the final at the Grand Prix Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes. 

Musetti recovered from losing the opening set to force a decider but faced an uphill task when Cobolli earned four match points with the Italian serving at 4-5. 

But he held his nerve and saved all four match points in that game, recovering from 15-40 and fending off two further match points to stay alive before sealing his victory in two hours and 32 minutes. 

"It's really tough to play a friend like Flavio. I know how important this match was for him," Musetti said.  

"But in the same way, because I haven't played many tournaments, having the chance to reach a final and get back in shape, it means so much. I fought until the end. We both probably deserved to win." 

Musetti will face Taylor Fritz in the final after the American defeated fellow countryman and close friend Tommy Paul 6-3 7-5 in Saturday's other semi-final, wrapping up the victory in one hour and 41 minutes.

Get well soon Sascha  @DaniilMedwed is through to the final as Bublik retires due to injury. @AlmatyOpen_KZ | #AlmatyOpen

— ATP Tour (@atptour) October 24, 2026

Basilashvili blazes a trail 

Following his incredible win over Tsitsipas, Basilashvili became only the fourth qualifier to reach a tour-level final in men's singles this season – after Daniel Merida Aguilar in Bucharest, Marco Trungelliti in Marrakech, and Ignacio Buse in Hamburg. 

But he will face a stern test in Sunday's final in the form on Medvedev, who boasts a strong record in Almaty. 

The defending champion has won a Tour-leading 37 matches on hard courts in 2026 alone and is currently 10-1 at the Almaty Open, making him the clear favourite for victory.