Bublik, once again up against the Sinner wall
The Kazakh loves to improvise, the Italian hates letting him breathe. On a slow surface, everything points to another 'made in Sinner' demonstration.
Clay, grass, outdoor hard, and now indoors—these two have played each other everywhere in 2025. A grass-court win for Bublik after Sinner’s huge disappointment at Roland-Garros, and two massive beatdowns from Sinner at Roland-Garros and the US Open.
Do we see reasons to believe in Bublik today? Me, not really.
The context of the Halle match was very particular, which is not at all the case today, and Sinner neutralizes Bublik perfectly with his excellent return; then he plays too fast for Bublik to be able to impose his variation-heavy style. It looks like something insoluble for him unless he plays ultra-offensive tennis (and even then), which will be difficult in Vienna’s rather slow conditions.
Sinner had a match that was a bit tougher than expected, with a very nice pushback from Cobolli in the second set, but he stayed calm and composed. Even if the forehand was a bit shaky at times, he never panicked, as usual—another important quality against Bublik. As for the Kazakh, he’s coming off two good matches against much more modest opponents. What are the books offering us?
