New York (AFP) – World number one Jannik Sinner demolished big-serving Alexander Bublik to storm into the US Open quarter-finals on Monday. Defending champion Sinner needed just 81 minutes to administer a brutal 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 drubbing to reach the last eight. Bublik — who described Sinner as “like an AI-generated player” shortly before walking onto the Arthur Ashe Stadium court — embraced the Italian after the drubbing, and could be heard exclaiming: “You’re so good, this is insane.”
“I felt like today I was playing some great tennis, and I managed to break him very early, which gave me then the confidence to serve a little bit better and play from the back of the court a bit better,” said Sinner. The top seed steered clear of questioning Bublik’s effort during a match in which he made two underarm serves and racked up 13 double faults. “Sometimes we have days off where certain things doesn’t work,” he said. “Some players, they have some problems behind the scenes, you never know. Obviously, people come here to see some great tennis matches, some great battles, and not always that’s the case.”
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Kazakh 23rd seed Bublik had advanced to Monday’s last 16 clash without dropping a single service game in his three previous rounds, a remarkable 55-game unbroken streak. But the 6ft 5in 28-year-old’s previously impregnable serve was systematically ransacked by the imperious Sinner, who is chasing his third Grand Slam title of the season in New York.
Sinner went on the offensive in the opening game of the first set, breaking Bublik immediately to set the tone for what would be a lopsided masterclass. The Italian went on to break Bublik seven more times over the rest of the match as he sauntered into a last eight meeting with 10th-seeded compatriot Lorenzo Musetti. The one-sided nature of the defeat prompted sympathy from the crowd in the third set, who cheered loudly when Bublik merely won a point as Sinner marched relentlessly towards the finish line.
Even Bublik himself found humour in being so comprehensively outgunned, raising clenched fists in delight after successfully holding serve in the fifth game of the third set. Sinner is aiming to become the first man to successfully defend the US Open crown since Roger Federer won the last of five consecutive titles in 2008. The top-ranked Italian has won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this season but lost to Carlos Alcaraz in a gruelling five-set battle in the French Open final.
© 2024 AFP
