'It wasn’t easy to come here and compete again': Jannik Sinner admits Roland Garros loss took its toll

Jannik Sinner lamented his second-round defeat at the Halle Open after being surprised by Alexander Bublik. The World No. 1 suffered his first loss to an opponent other than Carlos Alcaraz since August 2024, and his first to a player outside the Top 40 since August 2023 at the Cincinnati Open.

The three-time Grand Slam champion was the favorite on the grass courts against Bublik. Two weeks prior, he had comfortably overcome him in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, and lately, Sinner had seemed virtually unstoppable. However, he was surprised by the talented Kazakh with a 6-3, 3-6, 4-6 score, ending his participation in the only grass-court tournament he will play in preparation for Wimbledon.

“I need to rest now” - Jannik Sinner

The World No. 1 admitted it was challenging to mentally rebound after the Roland Garros final loss to Carlos Alcaraz. "After the loss in Paris, it wasn’t easy to come here and compete again," he said. "I’m relatively satisfied to have been able to play two matches on grass before Wimbledon. I need to rest a bit now."

"I'm going to recover mentally and physically; I need a few days for that, and I think a break will do me good. Mentally, I've felt fine, but I feel somewhat physically tired. Not every day is the same; you have to accept it, and that's it."

Bublik secured the best win of his career so far, his first against a Top-3 player, and exacted revenge for the defeat in the French Open quarterfinals a couple of weeks prior. "I tried to get back whatever I could. I mean, he’s an unbelievable player. I was not thinking I could beat him," Bublik stated. "If I had a few chances and I executed them well, and I kept serving, I had for certain a better chance than at Roland Garros."

"I stayed there. Tried to return as much as I could. Serve aces so the ball doesn’t come back. That worked really well. I know what I’m capable of. I know I can put a few returns back. It’s a very fast surface. He gave me a chance."

"I had an amazing forehand to break him in the 3rd set. Then I just kept serving. On grass, if you lose your serve, it’s quite tough, maybe. I’m not the guy who loses a lot of serves. I just kept serving and putting him in uncomfortable positions. It worked well."

The World No. 1 will now travel to Wimbledon to continue his preparation for the third Grand Slam of the year. On the other hand, Bublik advanced to the quarterfinals and will face Czech Tomas Machac in a bid to continue his campaign in Halle, where he already won the title in 2023 – also defeating Sinner on his way.