French Open: Jannik Sinner Edges Alexander Bublik To Reach Semi-final

 

Jannik Sinner has edged closer to claiming his second tour-level trophy this season by reaching the semi-finals of the French Open, after losing his previous final appearance in Rome to Carlos Alcaraz. 

Jannik fought through a tough quarterfinal against Alexander Bublik in three sets, 6-1, 7-5, 6-0. Though the match lasted for an hour and 50 minutes, Jannik was almost frustrated in the second set, for having to deny the Kazakhstani set points to level at 5-5. He won his only break point in the eleventh game as Bublik double-faulted before claiming the set. 

"He deserved to be in the quarterfinals, he beat very tough opponents," Jannik commended his opponent. "I tried to stay focused from my side of the court and play as solid as possible, as he can have some ups and downs." 

Bublik did not seem like he was going to cause a scare as Jannik breezed into the second set, winning two breaks in the first set. At this point, Bublik was struggling with his technique, but that changed quickly in the second set. He deployed drop shots and kept his forehand to the baseline. Jannik eased through the decider. 

The top seed was playing against Bublik, and the Kazakhstani had shown great competence in the previous rounds. He defeated players like Jack Draper and Alex de Minaur to reach his first quarter-finals of any major tournament. He staged a thrilling rally from two sets down to eliminate Minaur in five sets in the second round. 

Jannik has not dropped a set since the opening round. He returned to action in Rome after he had served a ban for a failed drug test. He reached the semi-finals of the last edition of Roald Garros and was eliminated by Carlos Alcaraz, who won the tournament.