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Jannik Sinner was presented with a tough test to start his 2023 grass season, but the Italian passed with flying colours on Wednesday at the Libema Open.
The second-seeded Sinner nullified the big-serving threat of Alexander Bublik for a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the ATP 250 event in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Sinner converted three of his 12 break points to earn an 84-minute win in his second-round clash with Bublik, who is a two-time ATP Tour finalist on grass.
“Against him it is never easy to play,” said Sinner of Bublik. “He serves very good, he can play every kind of shot, so I had to be very careful. From my side, I think I served well in important moments. For me this is a special tournament, because in 2019 I won my first match on grass here, and obviously the support [here] is always very nice… It means a lot.”
Sinner is now 11-0 in opening matches at tour-level events for the season. The 21-year-old is relatively inexperienced on grass, on which he holds a 5-5 record, but the 2022 Wimbledon quarter-finalist again demonstrated how effective his ferocious groundstrokes can be on the surface with a classy performance against Bublik.
“I’ve grown up, but I’m still young,” said Sinner, when asked about how he had changed since his previous appearance in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2019. “I learned many things. My position is very different, much better [now], but I know that I can still improve a lot. Every match I try to play my level, try to improve and obviously I am trying to go as far as possible.”
Sinner’s quarter-final opponent will be Emil Ruusuvuori, after the Finn notched a hard-earned 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-4 triumph against seventh seed Ugo Humbert. It will be Ruusuvuori’s second tour-level quarter-final of the season, with Sinner his opponent in both. The Italian prevailed in straight sets in the pair’s last-eight clash in Miami in March.
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