Alexander Bublik defeated Hubert Hurkacz 7–6 7–6 7–5 in the first round of the ATP 250 Rotterdam tournament on hard court on 11 February 2026. As the pre-match favourite with odds of 1.71, Bublik's victory followed expectation, though the match proved competitive across all three sets, each decided by narrow margins. The Kazakh player's win in successive tiebreaks in the opening two sets proved decisive, before he secured a decisive break in the final set to close out the contest. The result maintains Bublik's momentum in the early stages of the European hard-court season and sets up a second-round meeting with a higher-ranked opponent.