US Open: Sinner obliterates Bublik to reach quarterfinals

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner displayed another crisp and clinical tennis performance after blanking Alexander Bublik, 6-1, 6-1, 6-1, to punch a quarterfinal ticket in the ongoing US Open on Sept. 2, 2025, at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in New York.

After dropping his first-ever set of the entire tournament against Denis Shapovalov in the third round, Sinner walked his talk when he vowed to shrug off any costly slow starts in his quest for a US Open title defense.

That exactly became the first order of business, as Sinner went almost automatic with every ground stroke winner in the opening set against Bublik.

The combination of Sinner’s deadly power and on-the-rise approach pace proved to be too much for the Russian after he only managed to rake in a single game point in the first 19 minutes of action.

As the match progressed, Sinner became more aggressive and came out firing in the final two game sets to grab a commanding 1-0 lead.

Although Bublik played a more consistent defensive game in the following set, Sinner’s deadly cross-court attacks paved the way for another lopsided outing, backstopped by a series of service breaks.

Unlike Popyrin, who targeted Sinner’s backhand during the second round, Bublik tried something unorthodox and challenged the Italian ace to step inside the net area.

However, that strategy went to no avail as the reigning US Open king adjusted seamlessly, holding his ground in the no-man’s land to score freebies off overhead smashes.

The third set followed the same script, with Sinner’s persistent forehand pushing Bublik to the brink of a Round of 16 elimination.

Sinner wrapped up the dominant win with 86 total points, including eight break points and 45 on return.

“It was a faster, or a fast match,” Sinner said during his post-game interview.

“At times I felt like today I was playing some great tennis, and I managed to break him very early, which then gave me the confidence to serve a little bit better and play from the back of the court a bit better.”