Jannik Sinner powered into the semi-finals of the French Open for the second successive year with a commanding straight-sets victory over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik on Wednesday.
The world number one produced another clinical display on Court Philippe Chatrier, dispatching the unseeded Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 in just one hour and 49 minutes. Sinner remains yet to drop a set at Roland Garros this year, underlining his growing status as the man to beat in Paris.
Awaiting the 23-year-old Italian in Friday’s semi-final will be either 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or third seed Alexander Zverev, who are set to meet later on Wednesday evening.
“I just tried to stay focused on my side of the court and stay as solid as possible, because he [Bublik] can have ups and downs,” said Sinner afterwards. “It was a good performance from my side. Against these kind of players, you have to be very consistent. I’m very happy to be in the semi-finals – they’re always very special.”
Sinner’s emphatic run through the tournament has drawn admiration from across the locker room, with world number two Carlos Alcaraz admitting that he had been inspired by the Italian’s ruthless efficiency.
Alcaraz, who cruised past Tommy Paul in his quarter-final on Tuesday, said: “He [Sinner] inspired me in some ways to give 100 per cent every match. I see how important it is to play at such a high level the whole match, just to give yourself more time to recover afterwards.”
Sinner has spent fewer than 10 hours on court en route to the last four, making short work of all five opponents so far. Against Bublik, he raced through the opening set in just over 30 minutes, showcasing his trademark composure and consistency.
Although Bublik, ranked 62nd in the world, put up a stronger fight in the second set, he never truly threatened to wrest control from Sinner. The Italian pounced on a double-fault at 5-5 to break serve, before calmly holding to love to close out the set.
The third set was little more than a formality. Sinner broke immediately and then swept through the remainder of the set without dropping a game, sealing victory with a clinical cross-court forehand on his first match point.
The win extends Sinner’s head-to-head lead over Bublik to 4-1, with the Kazakh’s only victory coming by retirement when Sinner was injured in Halle two years ago.
“We’ve played a couple of times before, so I knew a little what to expect,” Sinner added. “But with him, you never know what’s going to happen.”
With each match, Sinner continues to underline his credentials as a potential champion in Paris – and he will take some stopping.