As of before the second round of Halle Open, Jannik Sinner has won the last 66 matches against the top 20 ATP players, from August 2023. However, this impressive series was officially blocked when he lost to shock Alexander Bublik – the 45th rank player in the world.
The match started with the advantage in favor of Sinner when he won set 1 with a score of 6-3. However, the game was reversed in the second set. Bublik takes advantage of the third break point opportunity to lead 4-2, then win the set.
This match, Bublik played extremely firmly with strong serve. He launched 15 ACEs, while Sinner had difficulty with 3 double errors. To the decision set, Bublik broke the serve of Sinner in the Saturday game (3-3) and maintained the advantage to win unexpectedly.
In the end, Bublik defeated Sinner with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 and won tickets to the quarterfinals. Here, he will face Tomas Machac, who surpassed Fabian Marozsan with a score of 6-2, 6-3. Meanwhile, Sinner was eliminated in the second round and officially became the former king.
Sharing after the match, Bublik said: “We are professional players and always try to win every match, but this is a special match. I have never defeated the world's No. 1 player in the past. Therefore, this is a great achievement in my career.
On the pitch, if you lose the game, the situation will be very difficult. I am a person who does not often lose the game. I just tried to put Sinner into difficult situations, and that was effective. ”
