'Not a shocking defeat': Andy Roddick defends Jannik Sinner to bounce back at Wimbledon after Bublik's bombshell

Andy Roddick weighed in on Jannik Sinner's surprising loss to Alexander Bublik, asserting that it's not a "shocking loss" for the World No. 1, considering Bublik's high level and the conditions at the Halle Open. For Roddick, Sinner remains—at the very least—one of the top three contenders for the Wimbledon title.

The former World No. 1 tempered expectations regarding Sinner's defeat. The Italian hadn't lost to anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz since August 2024. However, the three-time Grand Slam champion suffered a painful defeat to the World No. 45, whom he had easily beaten two weeks prior at Roland Garros.

Roddick: Sinner still a top Wimbledon favorite

Following the match, the tennis world was taken by surprise. One person who paid close attention was former World No. 1 Andy Roddick, who analyzed Sinner's loss and deemed it not overly concerning heading into Wimbledon. "He's going into a Grand Slam on his worst surface and still staying he is on the top-3 list of favorites," commented the former World No. 1.

"We have all these conversations and criticism, with a dose of reality, right? It’s not his best surface, it’s probably his least favorite surface, and in my mind, he’s still one of the top three favorites to win Wimbledon along with Alcaraz and Novak (Djokovic)."

"I don’t know if that changes because Bublik played great for an hour-long stretch. Three out of five sets is a different animal, over the course of two weeks is a different animal, and Sinner is only going to be better," the 2003 US Open champion added. "The footing at Wimbledon is just frankly better than it is at Halle, especially on the sides where the shadows kind of create a little slippery mechanism for hours at a time."

"Listen, he's gonna want to be better, but I don’t think this is a shocking loss. I think Bublik could be on a short list, 10-15 best grass court players right now if he’s in form and engaged. I like Bublik on grass a lot," he concluded.

Sinner has no other tournament scheduled for next week, thus concluding his grass-court preparation before Wimbledon. The Italian secured only one first-round victory against Yannick Hanfmann and exits in the Round of 16 against Bublik.