Latest news with #Halle
News24
2 hours ago
- Sport
- News24
World No 1 Sinner suffers shock loss at Halle grass court event
Defending Halle champion Jannik Sinner suffered a surprising second-round defeat to Alexander Bublik It was the Italian world No 1's first loss to a player outside the top 20 since 2023. Sinner recently lost an epic French Open final to Carlos Alcaraz where he held three match points. For more tennis news, visit our dedicated section. Defending champion Jannik Sinner lost his second-round match on grass at Halle on Thursday to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik, the Italian's first tournament since his French Open final defeat. The world number one fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to the 45th-ranked Bublik for the 23-year-old's first loss to a player ranked outside the top 20 since the summer of 2023. A few days before his defeat to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the title match at the French Open, Sinner had easily dispatched Bublik in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, dropping only six games. On Thursday, 10 days before Wimbledon, Bublik claimed his second victory in six ties against Sinner. 'We are tennis players and we try to win every match we play but it is a special one,' Bublik said. 'I had never beaten a No 1 in the world. It is an accomplishment.' Sinner, who had beaten Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets in the first round, cruised through the first set against Bublik without facing a break point. TAKE A BOW BUBLIK! 🤩 Alexander Bublik becomes the first player outside of the Top 20 to defeat Sinner since Cincinnati 2023 (Lajovic) #TWO25 — Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 19, 2025 Sinner had three break points at the start of the second set but Bublik held and then went on the attack, hitting 20 winners in the set and gaining the break he needed in the sixth game. The 28-year-old broke Sinner's serve in the third with a flashing forehand. 'I had an amazing forehand to break in the third set and then I kept serving,' Bublik said. '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.' 'He is an unbelievable player and I was not thinking that I could beat him,' said Bublik. 'But I had a few chances and executed them well.' The Kazakh will play Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals after the Czech beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-3. Earlier world number three Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to see off Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. The 28-year-old German won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) against the 46th-ranked Sonego and next plays another Italian, Flavio Cobolli for a place in the semi-finals. A finalist in Halle in 2016 and 2017, Zverev recorded his fifth victory in as many meetings with Sonego, a year after beating him at the same stage of the same competition. Sonego took advantage of his only chance to break in the first set at 4-3. The German struggled throughout to break his opponent's serve. Zverev dug deep in the second set, leading 5-4, to win the set before dominating the tiebreak in the final set. Argentina's 63rd ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry also reached the quarter-finals after a three-hour duel against fourth seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (8/6). The Argentine saved two match points in the tiebreak of the deciding set to set up a meeting with Russia's Karen Khachanov.
Japan Times
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Japan Times
Alexander Bublik upsets No. 1 Jannik Sinner in second round in Halle
Defending champion Jannik Sinner lost his second-round match against Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik on grass in Halle on Thursday in the Italian's first tournament since his loss in the French Open final. The world No. 1 fell 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 against the 45th-ranked Bublik and suffered his first defeat to a player ranked outside the top 20 since the summer of 2023. A few days before losing to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz in the title match at the French Open, Sinner had easily dispatched Bublik in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, dropping only six games. On Thursday, ten days before Wimbledon, Bublik claimed his second victory in six matchups against Sinner. "We are tennis players, and we try to win every match we play, but it is a special one," Bublik said. "I had never beaten a No. 1 in the world. It is an accomplishment." Sinner, who beat Yannick Hanfmann in straight sets in the first round, cruised through the first set against Bublik without facing a break point. Sinner had three break points at the start of the second set, but Bublik held and then went on the attack, hitting 20 winners in the set and gaining the break he needed in the sixth game. The 28-year-old broke Sinner's serve in the third set with a flashing forehand. "I had an amazing forehand to break in the third set, and then I kept serving," Bublik said. "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." "He is an unbelievable player, and I was not thinking that I could beat him," said Bublik. "But I had a few chances and executed them well." The Kazakh will play Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals after the Czech beat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-2, 6-3. Earlier, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev rallied from a set down to see off Italy's Lorenzo Sonego. The 28-year-old German won 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2) against the 46th-ranked Sonego and next plays another Italian, Flavio Cobolli, for a place in the semifinals. A finalist in Halle in 2016 and 2017, Zverev recorded his fifth victory in as many meetings with Sonego, a year after beating him at the same stage of the same competition. Sonego took advantage of his only chance to break in the first set at 4-3. The German struggled throughout to break his opponent's serve. Zverev, leading 5-4 in the second set, dug deep to win the set before dominating the tiebreak in the final set. Argentina's Tomas Martin Etcheverry also reached the quarterfinals after a three-hour duel against fourth seed Andrey Rublev ended with him winning 6-3, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6). The world No. 63 saved two match points in the tiebreak of the deciding set to set up a meeting with Russia's Karen Khachanov.
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
No. 1 Jannik Sinner loses to Alexander Bublik in second round at Halle
Italy's Jannik Sinner returns a backhand to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik during their round of 16 match at the Halle ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, Thursday June 19, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP) Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik during their round of 16 match at the Halle ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, Thursday June 19, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP) Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik during their round of 16 match at the Halle ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, Thursday June 19, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP) Italy's Jannik Sinner returns a backhand to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik during their round of 16 match at the Halle ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, Thursday June 19, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP) Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik during their round of 16 match at the Halle ATP tennis tournament in Halle, Germany, Thursday June 19, 2025. (David Inderlied/dpa via AP) HALLE, Germany (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner was upended by Alexander Bublik 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round at the Halle grass-court tournament Thursday. Sinner, the Halle defending champion, was playing in his first tournament since losing a five-set thriller to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland-Garros final. Advertisement The three-time Grand Slam champion had beaten Yannick Hanfmann in the first round this week, but the big-serving Bublik gained some revenge after having lost to Sinner in the quarterfinals in Paris. 'It's a special one — I had never beaten the top one (No. 1) in the world, that's an accomplishment,' Bublik, who is ranked 45th, said in his on-court interview. The Kazakhstan player recorded 36 winners and 15 aces against the top-seeded Sinner in the Wimbledon warmup tournament. 'I just kept serving, kept putting him in uncomfortable positions and it worked well," said Bublik, the 2023 Halle champion who will face Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals. Also Thursday, the second-seeded Alexander Zverev outlasted Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) to reach the quarterfinals. ___ More AP tennis:
Associated Press
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Associated Press
No. 1 Jannik Sinner loses to Alexander Bublik in second round at Halle
HALLE, Germany (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner was upended by Alexander Bublik 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round at the Halle grass-court tournament Thursday. Sinner, the Halle defending champion, was playing in his first tournament since losing a five-set thriller to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland-Garros final. The three-time Grand Slam champion had beaten Yannick Hanfmann in the first round this week, but the big-serving Bublik gained some revenge after having lost to Sinner in the quarterfinals in Paris. 'It's a special one — I had never beaten the top one (No. 1) in the world, that's an accomplishment,' Bublik, who is ranked 45th, said in his on-court interview. The Kazakhstan player recorded 36 winners and 15 aces against the top-seeded Sinner in the Wimbledon warmup tournament. 'I just kept serving, kept putting him in uncomfortable positions and it worked well,' said Bublik, the 2023 Halle champion who will face Tomas Machac in the quarterfinals. Also Thursday, the second-seeded Alexander Zverev outlasted Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (2) to reach the quarterfinals. ___ More AP tennis:
Reuters
10 hours ago
- Sport
- Reuters
Sinner's Halle defence over after loss to former winner Bublik
June 19 (Reuters) - World number one Jannik Sinner's bid to win back-to-back Halle Open titles was ended on Thursday following a 3-6 6-3 6-4 defeat by Alexander Bublik in the last 16, the top seed's first defeat to a player outside the Top 20 since 2023. Going into the contest Sinner held a 4-1 win-loss record against Kazakhstan's Bublik, including a recent victory at the French Open. However, in Halle, Bublik now holds a 2-0 advantage over his Italian rival having also beaten Sinner en route to winning the grasscourt event in 2023. The Italian began brightly as he sailed into a 3-0 lead on his way to winning the first set but eventually came unstuck as Bublik hit 36 winners, including 15 aces. "I don't know. I kept serving. I tried to get back whatever I can," world number 45 Bublik said when asked how he turned things around. "He's an unbelievable player. I was not thinking I could beat him. "If I would have a few chances and I executed them well and I kept serving, I had for certain a better chance than at Roland Garros," he added referring to his quarter-final defeat at the claycourt major. Bublik saved three break points in the first game of the second set before gaining the crucial break to lead 4-2 and smashed three aces when holding serve to force the decider where a break to go 4-3 up proved decisive. "It's a very fast surface. He gave me a chance. I had an amazing forehand to break him in the third set," Bublik said. "I just kept serving and putting him in uncomfortable positions. It worked well." Sinner's last loss to a player ranked outside the Top 20 came against Dusan Lajovic, then number 66 in the world, at Cincinnati in August 2023. Bublik will meet Tomas Machac in the quarter-finals after the Czech seventh seed eased to a 6-2 6-3 win over Hungary's Fabian Marozsan. German second seed Alexander Zverev, still looking to win his first grasscourt title, overcame Italian Lorenzo Sonego 3-6 6-4 7-6(2). Zverev, a twice beaten finalist in Halle, recorded his fifth win over the Italian in as many meetings, having also beaten Sonego at the same stage of last year's tournament. He next faces another Italian, Flavio Cobolli. Cobolli squeezed past Canadian Denis Shapovalov 7-6(2) 4-6 7-6(5). Another two-time losing finalist, Andrey Rublev, exits the tournament after a three-hour battle in which the Russian fourth seed was beaten 6-3 6-7(4) 7-6(6) by Argentine Tomas Etcheverry. Etcheverry, who saved two match points in the deciding tiebreak, will meet another Russian, Karen Khachanov. The eighth seed beat Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3 1-6 6-3.
