Sinner's Halle defence over after loss to former winner Bublik
World number one Jannik Sinner's bid to win back-to-back Halle Open titles was ended on Thursday following a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat by Alexander Bublik in the last 16, the top seed's first defeat to a player outside the Top 20 since 2023.
Going into the contest Sinner held a 4-1 win-loss record against Kazakhstan's Bublik, including a recent victory at the French Open. However, in Halle, Bublik now holds a 2-0 advantage over his Italian rival having also beaten Sinner en route to winning the grasscourt event in 2023.
The Italian began brightly as he sailed into a 3-0 lead on his way to winning the first set but eventually came unstuck as Bublik hit 36 winners, including 15 aces.
"I don't know. I kept serving. I tried to get back whatever I can," world number 45 Bublik said when asked how he turned things around.
"He's an unbelievable player. I was not thinking I could beat him.
"If I would have a few chances and I executed them well and I kept serving, I had for certain a better chance than at Roland Garros," he added referring to his quarter-final defeat at the claycourt major.
Bublik saved three break points in the first game of the second set before gaining the crucial break to lead 4-2 and smashed three aces when holding serve to force the decider where a break to go 4-3 up proved decisive.
"It's a very fast surface. He gave me a chance. I had an amazing forehand to break him in the third set," Bublik said.
"I just kept serving and putting him in uncomfortable positions. It worked well."
Sinner's last loss to a player ranked outside the Top 20 came against Dusan Lajovic, then number 66 in the world, at Cincinnati in August 2023.
Bublik will meet Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals after the Czech seventh seed eased to a 6-2 6-3 win over Hungary's Fabian Marozsan.
German second seed Alexander Zverev, still looking to win his first grasscourt title, overcame Italian Lorenzo Sonego 3-6 6-4 7-6(2).
Zverev, a twice beaten finalist in Halle, recorded his fifth win over the Italian in as many meetings, having also beaten Sonego at the same stage of last year's tournament. He next faces another Italian, Flavio Cobolli.
Cobolli squeezed past Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6(2) 4-6 7-6(5).
Another two-time losing finalist, Andrey Rublev, exits the tournament after a three-hour battle in which the Russian fourth seed was beaten 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(6) by Argentine Tomas Etcheverry.
Etcheverry, who saved two match points in the deciding tiebreak, will meet another Russian, Karen Khachanov. The eighth seed beat Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 1-6 6-3.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
41 minutes ago
- CNA
Bayern's Kompany cautious of 'dangerous' Club World Cup rivals Boca
Bayern Munich strolled to a 10-0 win over Auckland City in their Club World Cup opener but there will be no room for complacency when they face Argentina's Boca Juniors in their second Group C match, the German club's coach Vincent Kompany said on Thursday. Boca came close to winning their opener against Benfica but let a two-goal lead slip away in a 2-2 draw with the Portuguese side, and Kompany said they presented a real threat on the transition. "We know the quality of the tournament ... every team taking part here is a winning team," Kompany told reporters ahead of Friday's game, with Bayern looking to win their third Club World Cup title. "Boca are a very dangerous team in the transition game. They believe in their moments. The team spirit is good. We have respect for Boca. But we're looking at ourselves and want to bring our qualities to the game." Kompany said they were familiar with the Argentine style of play with many of the country's players plying their trade in Europe. "We know a lot of Argentinian players from the European leagues. It's a football we understand very well," he added. "It might feel a bit like an away game. But we want to be Bayern Munich. We have to show the right emotion." Kompany was happy to welcome attacking midfielder Jamal Musiala and centre back Dayot Upamecano back into the side after missing over two months with injuries. Germany's Musiala, who scored 12 goals as Bayern secured their 34th German top-flight title, came off the bench to score a hat-trick against Auckland on Sunday. "Jamal Musiala and Dayot Upamecano haven't played for a long time. We're very happy that they're back and fit. Integration is an important issue and we have to look at it. Otherwise, everyone's 100 per cent fit," Kompany said.
Independent Singapore
3 hours ago
- Independent Singapore
‘I just played two games on that side' — Aryna Sabalenka frustrated as Rebeka Masarova cancels match due to slippery courts at Berlin Open
Photo: Sabalenka BERLIN, GERMANY: Top athlete Aryna Sabalenka did not hide her frustration when her match against Rebeka Masarova was first suspended, then cancelled at the Berlin Ladies Open due to complaints about poor lighting and a slippery court. The athlete won the first set with a scoreline of 6-2 when the umpire halted the match. Her opponent, Masarova, was the one who requested to stop the match, and it was granted the way she wanted. With this Sabalenka expressed angrily: ' You are stopping the match because she says that side is slippery? I just played two games on that side.' This news was made worse because the previous match between Liudmila Samsonova and Jessica Pegula took more than three hours to finish. Samsonova won against the American with a final scoreline of 6-7 (8/10), 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) in a match that featured two tie-breaks. Moreover, this incident happened days after Sabalenka lost to Gauff in the French Open final. Sabalenka described that match as 'the worst final' she'd ever played, and she remarked back then: 'I don't think she won the match because she played incredibly well, but because I made all those mistakes.' However, before the Berlin Open, Sabalenka admitted to Eurosport that her comments were unprofessional and declared: 'I let my emotions guide me. I absolutely regret what I said.' In a social media post made by The Tennis Letter, it stated: 'Sabalenka and Masarova's match in Berlin was stopped due to the court getting slippery… Rebeka wanted to stop play… Aryna wanted to continue..' Netizens expressed their thoughts and opinions on the post in the comments section: 'Showing favouritism to one player. Not good', 'It wasn't slippery….yet… The match was stopped because Masarova was down a set and there was a theoretical chance of it becoming slippery', Sabalenka pulling much drama lately. Went over the Gauff incident and now Masarova', and 'I mean, Rebeka was losing so.. we all know why she wanted to stop the match.' Aryna Sabalenka aims to win a WTA title on grass for the very first time. She has missed playing at Wimbledon in two of the last three years. However, it is evident that her powerful playing style compliments the complexities of the grass courts. Moreover, the Berlin Open, which is one of the world's oldest women's tennis competitions, has shifted from clay to grass courts back in 2021. Since then, it has been a warm-up event for Wimbledon, which usually takes place in June.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
In-form Kolo Muani wants to stay at Juventus after Club World Cup
On-loan France striker Randal Kolo Muani said he would like to stay at Juventus next season after a Man of the Match performance for the Italian team in their impressive Club World Cup opener. Kolo Muani, who arrived at the club from Paris Saint Germain on a short-term deal in January, scored two goals as Juventus hammered Al-Ain 5-0 on Wednesday, taking his tally to five goals in his last six matches for the Italian club. "Honestly, I feel very good here," the 26-year-old told Mediaset after the Group G match in Washington D.C. "I can play well and score goals. I am happy, I hope to stay." General manager Damien Comolli told reporters last week that Juventus had discussed another loan with PSG when negotiating an extension to Kolo Muani's existing deal for the Club World Cup. "I'm optimistic that we can come to an agreement with PSG regarding a loan for the entire 25-26 season," he said. "Paris Saint Germain have certainly not closed the door to a loan, and they know the player wants to stay with us." Juventus coach Igor Tudor's optimistic response to Wednesday's victory might have been tempered by the knowledge that the two best performers in the game are only at the club on deals which expire after the tournament. Portuguese winger Francisco Conceicao, who is on loan from Porto, also grabbed a brace of goals after terrorising the Al-Ain defence from both flanks at Audi Field. Tudor has used the 22-year-old sparingly since taking over from Thiago Motta in March, suggesting Juventus might not be ready to trigger the 30 million euros ($34.57 million) buyout clause in his contract and keep him in Turin. In the short term, however, Tudor has both players at his disposal for the Club World Cup, which continues for Juventus with games against Wydad Casablanca on Sunday and Manchester City next Thursday. Kolo Muani for one is certainly buying into the Croatian's programme. "He trusts me, he wants to attack and he wants to keep the defence strong," he told the post-match press conference.
