‘You’re the GOAT’ - Jannik Sinner destroys Alexander Bublik in US Open fourth round

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World No. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner wasted no time at all in defeating Alexander Bublik for the loss of three games under the lights at the US Open, winning 6-1 6-1 6-1 in under 90 minutes. It was a ruthless performance from the Italian, who had looked shaky in dropping a set in the previous round. He plays countryman Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows.

Highlights: Sinner eases into quarters, Anisimova sets up Swiatek showdown

Video credit: SNTV

Jannik Sinner delivered his best performance yet in New York, dismantling Alexander Bublik in their US Open fourth round match in just one hour 21 minutes.

Sinner won 6-1 6-1 6-1 in emphatic fashion to move into the quarter-finals, leading to some high praise from Bublik after the one-sided encounter.

Sinner had struggled in his previous match - dropping a set to Denis Shapovalov - and as a result there were question marks regarding his form and fitness, especially given Bublik is one of just two men to defeat Sinner this year. The other, of course, being Carlos Alcaraz.

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But while Bublik got the best of Sinner in Halle on the grass, he had no answer to the pace and accuracy of Sinner’s groundstrokes in New York.

"That was so good," Bublik could be heard telling Sinner at the net at the end of the second-shortest match in the men’s singles this year at Flushing Meadows.

"I’m not bad, you’re just the GOAT!"

In truth, Bublik was not at his best - serving 13 double faults is never a recipe for success against the world No. 1, nor is throwing in 31 unforced errors. But he did finish his previous match very late - a five-set thriller with Tommy Paul - and he was up against a player with two Grand Slams to his name already this year.

Sinner never looked troubled in the match as he closed out an easy victory in front of a slightly stunned New York crowd, and was quick to point out afterwards that not every match can be a thriller.

"Sometimes we have days off where certain things don't work. Some players, they have some problems behind the scenes, you never know," Sinner explained in his press conference.

"At the end of the day, we try to make the sport as interesting as possible. 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.

"It was a fast match. But at the same time from my point of view, it's good. Obviously, people come here to see some great tennis matches, some great battles, and that's not always the case."

As well as calling his opponent the ‘GOAT’, Bublik later commented on a US Open social media post, calling Sinner ‘AI’. And there was something metronomic about the way the Italian dismantled his opponent, winning 81% of the points behind his first serve.

Sinner could face a sterner test in the next round though against compatriot Lorenzo Musetti, who has refound the form that took him to the semi-finals at Roland-Garros earlier this season.

"He's an amazing player, very, very talented. He is playing some great tennis. He has struggled a bit during the season, but now he finds himself in amazing form and shape," Sinner said.

"The pressure is on me. But at the same time, most of the time the pressure is a little bit more on me than on the opponent, so let's see what's coming.

"It's great from an Italian point of view to have an Italian playing the semis of a Grand Slam. Now these things seem normal, but they are not normal.

"It's very difficult to get to these stages, quarters. The occasion is getting bigger, the attention is getting bigger, the matches are bigger. Everything changes now. So let's see."

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