Second seed Jannik Sinner of Italy thrashed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 6-4 6-2 in the second round of the ATP Libema Open in Den Bosch on Wednesday. The match lasted for less than two hours, as Sinner did not have to break much sweat to prevail on the day.
The 21-year-old Italian will face Emil Ruusuvuori of Finland in the quarterfinals on Friday. With only Daniil Medvedev seeded ahead of him, Sinner has a great chance go win the tournament ahead of Wimbledon.
Bublik kept playing slices and drop shots in the first set:
Bublik was not much interested in playing lengthy rallies from the baseline throughout the match.
He kept taking pace off the ball repeatedly by playing backhand slices, sliced returns, and drop shots to drag Sinner forward. He also kept rushing the net frequently to try to finish points with volleys.
However, that tactic often did not work, as Sinner managed to pass him quite a few times in the first set. The Italian got the requisite break of serve in the first set to win it and draw the first blood.
Bublik’s showboating helped Jannik Sinner in the second set:
Bublik kept playing to the gallery in the second set as well by hitting underarm serves, slices, and drop shots and volleying with an exaggerated motion of his arm.
However, that hardly helped him as he should have concentrated more on winning points rather than trying to entertain the crowd. Sinner took advantage of that and broke him twice in the set to finish the match off.
It was a rather embarrassing display on the part of the Kazakh, who should probably have taken the match more seriously. He won only 64% and 50% of the points on his first and second serves, respectively, in the match, which was well below what one would have expected.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
