Jannik Sinner reveals why he is ‘relatively satisfied’ despite shock Halle Open loss
Jannik Sinner revealed it “wasn’t easy” to return to court so quickly after his French Open final defeat after losing in the second round of his Halle Open title defence.
World No 1 Sinner was looking to become just the fourth man to win multiple Halle titles but was stunned 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 by 2023 champion Alexander Bublik on Friday.
The Italian had dispatched Bublik convincingly when they met in the last eight of the French Open two weeks ago, and had won his previous 66 matches against players outside the top 20, dating back to August 2023.
Sinner had also won his last 49 matches against players not named Carlos Alcaraz, with Bublik the first person other than Alcaraz to beat the Italian since Andrey Rublev in August 2024.
“We are tennis players and we try to win every match we play, but it is a special one,” said Bublik. “I had never beaten a No 1 in the world. It is an accomplishment.
“On grass, if you lose your serve, it is maybe tough and I am a guy who doesn’t lose a lot of serves. I just kept serving and putting him in uncomfortable positions and it worked well.”
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Sinner’s loss came just 10 days after his heartbreaking final defeat at Roland Garros, holding a two-set lead and three championship points before losing to Alcaraz in a final-set tiebreak.
Speaking after his loss in Halle, the 23-year-old admitted he was pleased to get some matches under his belt on grass after his painful clay-court loss less than two weeks ago.
“I had my chances to win,” admitted Sinner.
“In the second set, he gave me little room to manoeuvre on his serve, but in the third, I had opportunities that could have tipped the match in my favour.
“I felt it was going to come down to two or three points. I tried everything, but it didn’t work. He was better in key situations, and the truth is that after the defeat in Paris, it wasn’t easy to be competitive here.
“I’m relatively satisfied to have been able to play two matches on grass before Wimbledon.”
Sinner’s defeat to Bublik means he will not be in action again until the third Grand Slam tournament of the year at the All England Club, where the world No 1 will be the top seed.
After Roland Garros two weeks ago, Wimbledon is now the only Slam at which the three-time Grand Slam winner is yet to reach the final.
Sinner reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at the tournament back in 2o23, losing to Novak Djokovic, while he was beaten in the quarter-final by Daniil Medvedev in 2024.
The world No 1 will look to become the first Italian ever to lift the Wimbledon title, and just the second to reach the final following Matteo Berrettini in 2021.
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