Jannik Sinner put on a fourth round performance that had Alexander Bublik in awe. The World No. 1 won 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 against an opponent who had defeated him the last time these two met.
Bublik defeated Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Halle, a grass tuneup event ahead of Wimbledon.
The one-sided match left many fans disappointed that they didn’t get to see more tennis. Bublik, though, seemed to suggest Sinner was at a level there was no answer to after the match.
“That was so good,” Bublik told Sinner when they shook hands at net. “I’m not bad, like, what the f***?!”
Sinner could only respond with laughter. The official US Open account interpreted the final comment with expletives as “You’re the GOAT” but that’s clearly incorrect.
The Italian has now reached at least the quarterfinals of all four Majors this year, having won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. He lost in the final of the French Open.
Sinner will now play fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.
Alexander Bublik couldn’t believe what he witnessed from Jannik Sinner tonight. pic.twitter.com/c1uSUDebSE
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 2, 2025
Bublik Can’t Stop Praising Sinner
Even before the match, Bublik acknowledged beating Sinner would require a monumental effort.
“Well, I guess everything, he’s like an AI (artificial intelligence) generated player,” Bublik said when asked pre-match what makes Sinner so difficult to play against. “But, we’re all trying to find a way to get to him, get closer to beating him. I was lucky once so let’s see how it goes today.”
It obviously did not go well on Monday.
“He’s like an AI generated player.”
Alexander Bublik understands just how good Jannik Sinner is at tennis 😅 pic.twitter.com/A0qBo2aSIv
— ESPN (@espn) September 2, 2025
Funnily enough, a video has surfaced from several years ago where Bublik was just as much amazed by the level Sinner was playing at. The exchange was as follows:
Bublik: Are you human?
Sinner: I am human.
Bublik: You sure?
Sinner: But you’re not human.
Bublik: What do you mean? You’re not a human, man. You are 15 years old and you play like this. Good job!
Sinner: Thank you.
the history between bublik and sinner 😭😭 https://t.co/HdE4RK4JcD pic.twitter.com/vGfhDkZdRz
— azra (@hervelerc) September 2, 2025
While Sinner was certainly great, Bublik did not play his best tennis in this US Open fourth round match. He hit 11 double faults and 31 unforced errors. Bublik was also only able to create on break point opportunity compared to 17 for Sinner.
Bublik’s second serve was an immense struggle, winning just six of 32 second serve points. It was exposed so much because Bublik only made 59 percent of his first serves.
In some good news for Bublik, the fourth round appearance gets him back in the top 20 of the ATP rankings.
