Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner secured his second consecutive semi-final appearance at Roland Garros with a commanding straight-sets victory over unseeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik on Wednesday.
The world number one dominated the quarter-final match on Court Philippe Chatrier, winning 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 in just one hour and 49 minutes. Remarkably, Sinner remains unbeaten in sets at this year’s French Open.
Next up for the Italian is a tough semi-final showdown against Novak Djokovic, who earlier defeated Alexander Zverev in four sets.
Reflecting on his opponent, Sinner said, “(Djokovic) has shown now in the last period that he is back to the level. He plays very, very well, so it’s going to be quite tactical but very, very difficult. He’s such an experienced player—24 Grand Slams. I think that says everything.”
Although Sinner and Djokovic have four victories apiece, the Italian has won three of their previous meetings, including a four-set victory in the Australian Open semifinals last year, which led to his first major championship.
‘Stay focused.’
World number two Carlos Alcaraz credited Sinner’s clinical, time-efficient style over the past fortnight as a source of inspiration after dismantling Tommy Paul in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.
Credit: Tim Clayton via Getty Images
Sinner has spent less than 10 hours on court across five matches, systematically dismantling opponents while conceding very few games.
“He (Sinner) inspired me in some ways just to give my 100 per cent every match, and I see how important it is just to play at such a great level in the whole match, just to have more time then to recover after the match,” Alcaraz said after his 94-minute win.
Sinner wasted no time on centre court, wrapping up the first set in just over 30 minutes. Bublik, ranked 62, fought back in the second set, matching Sinner game for game, but never created a break point to truly challenge the Italian.
The turning point came in the 11th game when Bublik double-faulted at 30-40, handing Sinner a chance to serve for the set. Sinner sealed it comfortably by holding serve to love.
The third set began with Sinner breaking Bublik’s serve twice in succession before quickly closing out the match with a precise cross-court forehand.
“I just tried to stay focused on my side of the court, so I tried to stay as solid as possible because he (Bublik) can have ups and downs,” said Sinner. “It was a good performance from my side… against these kinds of players, you have to be very consistent.”
Sinner now leads their head-to-head 4-1, with his sole loss coming via retirement due to injury while trailing at Halle two years ago.
“We’ve played a couple of times before, so I knew a little what to expect, but with him, you never know what’s happening,” Sinner added of his unpredictable opponent.
