Tennis star Jannik Sinner lost the quarter-finals at the ATP 500 tournament in Halle in the most bitter way imaginable. The 21-year-old Italian had to retire against Kazakh Alexander Bublik due to injury. Is his Wimbledon participation now in danger?
A fatal lunge could result in a longer injury break for Jannik Sinner. The South Tyrolean had to give up on Friday afternoon when the score was 5:7, 0:2 against Alexander Bublik.
Sinner probably caught the injury to his right leg in the first set. He was treated briefly by his physiotherapist before starting the second set. However, after he conceded the break to 0:2, the current world number 9 drew. the final line and ended the match – Bublik is thus a semi-finalist.
The lawn classic in Halle is considered an important review and dress rehearsal for the most important Grand Slam tournament on the calendar: Wimbledon. Whether Jannik Sinner has to fear for his participation in England remains to be seen for the time being. The most important grass tournament in the calendar starts on July 3rd.
Sinner climbs the tennis world rankings
In the first set, both Sinner and Bublik made minor mistakes. The 48th in the world rankings, who had defeated the German Jan-Lennard Struff in three sets (6:3, 6:7, 6:3) in the round of 16, then managed the break to 5:3 after several forehand errors by Sinner. However, after a quick re-break by the Italian, the underdog prevailed.
A week ago, Jannik Sinner had won against the Kazakhs at the lawn tournament in the Netherlands. In Wimbledon, if he is fit because of the injury, he is seeded as the future number eight in the world rankings. The American Taylor Fritz, on the other hand, will be listed in ninth place by the ATP from Monday.
By placing in the top eight in the world, Sinner would avoid duels against the absolute top stars in London until the quarter-finals.