Defending champion and world number one Jannik Sinner was stunned in the second round at the Halle grass-court tournament on Thursday, losing 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
This marks Sinner’s first tournament loss since his French Open final defeat.
The 23-year-old Italian suffered his first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 20 since summer 2023, falling to Bublik, ranked 45th. Just days before his recent French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner had comfortably beaten Bublik at Roland Garros, conceding only six games in their quarterfinal clash.
Bublik secured his second victory over Sinner in six encounters, marking his first win against a world number one. “It’s a special win for me,” Bublik said. “I’d never beaten a No. 1 before. It’s an accomplishment.”
Sinner started strongly, taking the first set without facing a break point and defeating Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets in the opening round. However, Bublik responded fiercely in the second, delivering 20 winners and breaking Sinner’s serve in the sixth game to take the set.
In the deciding set, Bublik broke Sinner’s serve with a powerful forehand and maintained his serve throughout. “On grass, losing your serve is tough,” Bublik explained. “I don’t lose my serve often, so I just kept serving well and putting him under pressure.”
Bublik will face Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals after the Czech defeated Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-3.
In other matches, world number three Alexander Zverev came from a set down to beat Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), setting up a quarterfinal clash with fellow Italian Flavio Cobolli. This marked Zverev’s fifth consecutive win against Sonego.
Meanwhile, Argentina’s Tomas Martin Etcheverry advanced to the quarterfinals following a thrilling three-hour match against fourth seed Andrey Rublev, winning 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6). Etcheverry saved two match points in the final set and will next meet Russia’s Karen Khachanov.
