Sinner steers past Bublik danger into semis

After the handshake Bublik told the rising Italian: “You’re not human, man. You’re 15-years-old and you play like this. Good job.”

Sinner was actually 19, but the sentiment was clear. Sinner is a unique talent.

Since then the 'Fox’ has lifted three Grand Slam trophies and has spent a whole year at the top of the rankings.

On Court Philippe-Chatrier on Wednesday, Sinner ‘wasn’t human’ again, defusing the trickery of Bublik to return to the Roland-Garros semi-finals.

Story of the match

So crisp, so clean, the mechanical yet mesmerising hitting from the world No.1 was spectacular to launch himself into a 5-0 lead.

Sinner was playing like a man who hadn’t dropped a set through four rounds, only surrendering 30 games before Wednesday’s wondrous display.

However, an overhead that went long in the sixth game of the opener enabled the Kazakhstani to post on the scoreboard, raising his fist aloft in celebration with a mischievous smile.

Bublik dinked in 37 drop shots to down No.5 seed Jack Draper in the last 16 and was able to defy Sinner’s speed with great success in the second set. The crowd were relishing his disguised short balls which helped the world No.62 to stay with the top seed.

A screeching forehand down the line at 3-3 showed that Bublik isn’t only about the flicks and tricks. A cross-court backhand at 5-4 placed Sinner in danger, but the three-time major winner clicked into a devastating patch of form.

The Italian struck the ball with plenty of venom to rattle through the last three games of the second set for a commanding two-set advantage.

Could Bublik repeat his second-round heroics when he overhauled world No.9 Alex de Minaur from two sets down? Not today.

Sinner entered the court on an 18-match winning streak on the major stage - make that 19. The US Open 2024 trophy was lifted by Jannik the Fox, the Australian Open 2025 trophy was held aloft too. It’s going to take some stopping Sinner this weekend in Paris.

Key stats

The world No.1 has compiled a 65-0 record against players outside the top 20 since losing to world No.66 Dusan Lajovic at the 2023 Cincinnati Masters.

Five matches in straight sets, Sinner is the first Italian man ever to advance to six Grand Slam singles semi-finals.

Alongside his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, it marks the second time in history two Italian men will compete in the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam, 65 years after Nicola Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola at Roland-Garros 1960.

What Sinner says

“We have played each other a couple of times already, so we already knew what to expect a little bit,” said Sinner, already 3-1 up in their previous encounters. “But, in other aspects, you never know how he’s going to play.

"I feel like he deserved to be in this quarter-final, he has played some very tough players. I just tried to focus on my side of the court. I was trying to play as solid as possible because he can have some slight ups and downs, so I just needed to stay consistent throughout the whole match.

"I wanted to serve well in the important moments, which I did, so it was a good performance from my side.”

On his impressive ratio of winners (31) to unforced errors (13): “We work a lot on having a good balance with my body. When you play against top players, you have to be very consistent because if you make a lot of mistakes, it's already a game where, if we both serve very well, there are not so many rallies. That's why I try to get rhythm with the rallies.

"I'm very happy with how I've arrived into the semi-finals. The semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I'm looking forward to it. Let's see what's coming."

A box office battle with Djokovic or Zverev: “I think we will all [his team] watch a little bit of it for sure. I will also try to switch off my head because at Grand Slams you are always there mentally. Two weeks for an event is very long, so I will probably just try to go for dinner, try to relax and try to recover.

“It's going to be a great match, so hopefully I will be ready. We all hope for a high-quality match, that's what is important and what the fans want."