In Roland Garros rematch, Jannik Sinner loses to Alexander Bublik in Halle

Is Jannik Sinner still suffering from a Roland Garros hangover? The world No. 1's title defense at the Terra Wortman Open came to a screeching halt in Round of 16 on Thursday in a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat to Alexander Bublik.

The world No. 1 came to Halle admitting to "sleepless nights" in the days following his agonizing five-set loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the championship match in Paris, in which he failed to convert three match points in what was the longest Roland Garros final in history. But after relaxing with family and friends in his hometown of Sexten, Sinner proclaimed ahead of the tournament that he was ready to "forget the negative" and attack his first grass-court tournament of the season with a clear head.

"I think playing in a tournament again is positive for me because every game starts at 0-0 and you always have to be mentally prepared to fight for every point on the court," he said, and went on to defeat German Yannick Hanfmann 7-5, 6-3 in his first match.

Although Sinner routed Bublik in the quarterfinals in Paris, but it was a different story on German grass, a fact Bublik himself acknowledged afterwards speaking to Tennis Channel DE. Fifteen days ago, Sinner was a 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 winner over Bublik, his fourth win in four completed matches against the Kazakh. (Sinner lost a 2023 meeting by retirement.) But from a set ahead in Halle, Sinner was confounded by the mercurial 28-year-old—who also has a track record of success at the German grass-court stop.

Bublik, the 2023 Halle champion, hit 36 winners and 15 aces in the two-hour and two-minute victory, and saved all six break points he faced in the second and third sets combined. He came into the match with 12 career Top 10 wins, but was 0-3 against world No. 1s.

But that wasn't the most impressive streak snapped by Bublik's victory. In addition to having won six straight matches in Halle, Sinner had also won 66 consecutive matches against players ranked outside the Top 20 dating back nearly two full years. His last such loss was to Serbian Dusan Lajovic in Cincinnati in 2023, when he was ranked No. 6 in the world and had yet to reach a Grand Slam final.

Bublik, a former world No. 17, is currently ranked No. 45, and is the first man of any ranking not named Carlos Alcaraz to beat Sinner since last August.

"I think I had my chances," Sinner said afterwards, speaking to Tennis Channel DE. "I felt that only two or three points went Sascha's way today, and that was what made the difference in the end. But I came here, I tried everything, and after the defeat at Roland Garros, I knew right away.

"I'm relatively satisfied despite everything, two matches before Wimbledon. Of course, if there were more matches, it would certainly be better, but it's fine. I need to regenerate mentally and physically now, it takes a little time, and then, logically, I'll analyze it. I think everything will be fine at Wimbledon. To be honest, it was more physical here. Mentally, I was relatively good in the first round, but you can't expect every day to be the same, so you have to accept that and yes, it's fine."

Bublik will face No. 7 seed Tomas Machac of Czechia in the quarterfinals.

"The tournament continues, to be honest," Bublik said. "I knew that the chance really to beat those guys is only in between the Slams. I played Jannik less than two weeks ago and it was a different Jannik, I will tell you. But, nevertheless, it's number one. It's good for history, good for my achievements. I had the chance. It only was today and I used it, so I'm really happy."

Sinner wasn't the only big name to lose in Halle on Thursday. No. 4 seed Andrey Rublev was a 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(6) loser to Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, failing to convert two match points. No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev, though, escaped defeat by rallying from a set behind to beat Italian Lorenzo Sonego, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2).