Jannik Sinner raced into the quarter-finals of the US Open by producing one of the most one-sided victories of his career.
The world No.1 dropped just three games during his 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, thrashing of Alexander Bublik, who many expoected to be a stronger challenge for the Italian. Bublik is one of two players to have beaten Sinner on the Tour this season, alongside Carlos Alcaraz. Furthermore, he entered the fourth round having not dropped a service game in his three previous matches.
However, Sinner dominated proceedings on the Arthur Ashe Stadium from start to finish, dropping just six points behind his first serve and hitting 24 winners. In contrast, Bublik produced 13 double faults and 31 unforced errors. It is the second time this year the top seed has won a Grand Slam match by dropping just three games. He also did so against Jiri Lehecka in the third round of the French Open.
Given the one-sided performance, some questioned Bublik’s effort in the match. A topic that Sinner was reluctant to get into when asked by a reporter if fans in New York ‘deserved better’ from his opponent.
“Sometimes we have days off where certain things don’t work. Some players have problems behind the scenes; you never know,” said Sinner.
“We try to make the sport as interesting as possible. At times, I felt I was playing some great tennis and I managed to break him very early, which then gave me the confidence to serve a little bit better and play from the back of the court better.
“Obviously, people come here to see some great tennis matches and that’s not always the case. I can just judge from my point of view and how I managed to play. It was a good performance from my side.”
After their match ended, 28-year-old Bublik was heard at the net saying, “You’re so good, this is insane. I’m not bad,” to Sinner. Then, on Instagram, he wrote ‘AI’ (artificial intelligence) in a comment on the US Open’s Instagram post about the result.
“Some days there are good, and some days there are not good. Maybe I have a day where things don’t work, and then I lose easily. You never know what’s happening. It’s very unpredictable, the sport.” Sinner commented.
According to OptaAce, Sinner has become the youngest male player to reach the quarter-finals of every Grand Slam tournament in consecutive seasons. The previous record was held by Novak Djokovic, who also achieved the milestone at the same age, but he was 91 days older.
The 24-year-old will next play compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, who defeated Jaume Munar 6-3, 6-0, 6-1. He currently leads their head-to-head 2-0.
“It’s great to see. Italian tennis is in great form now. We have so many players, so many different game styles,” said Sinner. “Lorenzo is maybe one of the biggest talents we have in our sport, so I’m looking forward for this one. From an Italian point of view it’s great to have for sure one Italian player in the semis.”
Sinner has now won 25 consecutive hard-court matches at Grand Slam events. In the Open Era, only Djokovic, Roger Federer and Ivan Lendl have produced longer streaks.
