Not many in Halle would have expected the erratic Alexander Bublik to beat World #1 Jannik Sinner on Thursday. However, to the crowd’s amazement it did unfold in around 2 hours. A 36-winner barrage from Bublik had Sinner all over the place. The Kazakhstani was ruthless and sealed the match 3-6 6-3 6-4. What stood out in the result of the match was the number of streaks that had been successfully broken. Here are the three streaks that couldn’t survive post Bublik’s day out.
1. Sinner’s 66-match win streak over below Top 20 broken
Jannik Sinner held a 66-match streak against players outside the Top 20 of the rankings. However, Bublik ranked #45 in the world, breached the little fortress built. The last time Sinner lost a match to a player ranked outside the op 20 was back in the 2023 French Open, when he had a shocking exit against German Daniel Altmaier in a tough five set contest.
2. Sinner loses to someone other than Alcaraz for the first time in a year
The Italian had not lost a single match to any other opponent other than Carlos Alcaraz since August 2024. The last time he lost to a player other than Alcaraz was at the Roger’s Cup in August 2024, when he lost in three sets to Andrey Rublev. Since then the matches lost at China Open, Italian Open, and French Open have all come against the Spaniard. Bublik broke that streak as well with his win.
3. Sinner’s eight finals in a row streak broken
This is the first time in nine tournaments that the Italian hasn’t been able to make it to the final. In his previous eight events from the Cincinnati Masters last year Sinner maintained the streak right up to the classic French Open final. His previous exit earlier than a final was against Rublev at the Roger’s Cup when was knocked out in the quarter finals.
It will be interesting to see what mental state Sinner is in right now. Having just lost an epic to Alcaraz his were certainly fixed on the Halle event to get back the motivation. With this loss certain question marks will be stamped on his chances at the Championships later this month.
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images
