HALLE, WESTPHALIA/STARNBERG, June 19, 2025
Alexander Bublik scored the biggest victory of his career on Thursday at the TERRA WORTMANN OPEN in Halle, upsetting World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 grass-court event.
The 27-year-old from Kazakhstan hit 36 winners, including 15 aces, to knock out the top seed and earn his fourth Top 10 win after two hours and four minutes.
TAKE A BOW BUBLIK!
Alexander Bublik becomes the first player outside of the Top 20 to defeat Sinner since Cincinnati 2023 (Lajovic)#TWO25 pic.twitter.com/fdUKmcWCfU
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 19, 2025
“We are tennis players and we try to win every match we play but it is a special one. I had never beaten a No. 1 in the world. It is an accomplishment,” said Bublik.
“I kept serving. I tried to be clutch. I tried to get back whatever I [could]. He is an unbelievable player and I was not thinking that I could beat him,” said Bublik, who is the first player since last August to defeat Sinner other than Carlos Alcaraz. “But I had a few chances and executed them well. I kept serving. I had better chances than at Roland Garros. I stayed there, tried to return as much and serve aces, so the ball doesn’t come back and it worked really well.”
The 2023 Halle champion will next take on Tomas Machac after the seventh-seeded Czech beat Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-2, 6-3.
Zverev advances, Rublev falls
Earlier in the day, home favourite Alexander Zverev rallied past Italian Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) to reach the quarterfinals in Halle for the sixth time. The World No. 3 is chasing his first tour-level title and grass and will next meet Flavio Cobolli of Italy.
What an exciting day it has been… #tennis #atp #atphalle #TWO25 #sport #centercourt pic.twitter.com/PsFSIArUKe
— TERRA WORTMANN OPEN (@ATPHalle) June 19, 2025
In other action, Tomas Martin Etcheverry from Argentina saved two match points in a thrilling battle to upset fourth seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(6), earning his first tour-level quarterfinal appearance on grass. Etcheverry will next face eighth-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, who defeated Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
