WORLD No. 1 Jannik Sinner was upset on Thursday (Friday, June 20, 2025, PH time) at the Halle Open, losing 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Alexander Bublik in the second round.
This marks Sinner’s first tournament appearance since his thrilling five-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland-Garros final.
Sinner, also the defending champion at Halle, had started his campaign with a win over Yannick Hanfmann. However, Bublik, ranked 45th, exacted some revenge after being knocked out by Sinner in the quarterfinals in Paris.
“It’s a special one — I had never beaten the top one (No. 1) in the world, that’s an accomplishment,” Bublik said in his on-court interview.
The Kazakh player unleashed a powerful performance, tallying 36 winners and 15 aces against the top-seeded Italian in this Wimbledon warm-up event.
“I just kept serving, kept putting him in uncomfortable positions and it worked well,” added Bublik, who was the Halle champion in 2023. He will now face Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals.
In other action, second-seeded Alexander Zverev battled past Lorenzo Sonego in a tight match, winning 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) to secure his spot in the quarterfinals. / From the wires