Tennis-Bublik convinced teenager Sinner not 'human'

Muzali Arts

01/04/2021 06:19

April 1 (Reuters) - Alexander Bublik tried everything to
unsettle Jannik Sinner at the Miami Open on Wednesday but with
the Italian teenager keeping his composure to win 7-6(5) 6-4 the
Kazakh was left convinced he had been beaten by a robot.
    Bublik used underarm serves, drop shots and a sneak-attack
serve return against Sinner during the quarter-final of the ATP
Masters 1000 event but fell to his second straight defeat to the
19-year-old following a loss in Dubai in mid-March.
    "You are not a human," Bublik told Sinner at the net after
the Italian had wrapped up the match. "You are 15-years-old and
you play like this. Good job."
    2019 Next Gen ATP Finals winner Sinner has made rapid
progress over the last two years, reaching his maiden Grand Slam
quarter-final at last year's French Open and now sits at a
career-high 31st in the world.
    In February he became the youngest player since Novak
Djokovic in 2006 to win two ATP titles by claiming the Great
Ocean Road Open after his Sofia Open title at the end of 2020.
    "He's not (human). That's a fact," world No.44 Bublik later
told reporters. "For me it's very surprising that the guy at his
age has this mental toughness that many, many other players
don't have.
    "I called him a robot couple of times during the match, but
I do it in a very sincere way because he's really, really a
great player."
    Sinner had to be focused against Bublik, who has already
reached two finals this season.
    Rallying from a break down in each set, the Italian was not
only on the receiving end of a sneak-attack return and the
underarm serves but also watched on helplessly as Bublik hit a
105mph forehand return against his serve.
    The Kazakh was also impressed with the shot and asked the
chair umpire for the speed of his rocket return, adding that it
was "the best forehand I've ever hit in my life".

 (Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Peter
Rutherford)
 ((sudipto.ganguly@thomsonreuters.com; +91 22 6841 4383;
Twitter: @Sudipto_Reuters;))