Andy Roddick gives his verdict on Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon chances after losing to Alexander Bublik at the Halle Open

During those two weeks, nobody could stop him, until he met a Carlos Alcaraz-shaped blockade at the last hurdle.

And yet, despite that, Darren Cahill admitted his opinion of Sinner has changed since Roland Garros for the better.

Many are expecting these two titans of the sport to meet again in the Wimbledon final, although this defeat might make some question Jannik Sinner’s chances of going all the way.

However, Roddick still believes in the three-time Grand Slam champion.

Andy Roddick reacts to Alexander Bublik’s shock win over Jannik Sinner

Shockingly, this was the first match that Sinner has lost to anybody that is not Alcaraz since August 2024, and his first defeat to a player outside the top 20 since 2023.

That’s just how much of a surprise defeat this is.

However, Roddick’s stance was clear, suggesting that such a defeat, especially to someone as talented and unpredictable as Bublik, should not sound alarm bells.

He claimed: ‘Bublik, engaged and confident, is different than Bublik when he’s going walkabout for a couple of months at a time. But Sinner looked good here early.

‘It’s another one. Yes, especially in Halle. I mean, no disrespect to the tournament, but the court is kind of weird. It’s super slippery. It seems like it gets chewed. It’s tough, but like, Sinner getting exposed to the corners is just not something you see on any other surface.

‘And on a grass court, you saw Bublik was able to take a racket out of his hand a little bit, right? Go big on second serve. Up the wrist profile, and it can actually unsettle someone like Sinner, right, where, he’s set up and he wants to rip every single ball.

‘This is a silly passing shot from Bublik there. Guessed right and was able to stick it, but the guy served huge, right? Jannik just wasn’t getting in the service games in the third set so credit to Bublik, he’s got a lot of momentum on his side close to Roland Garros.’

Andy Roddick rates Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon chances

Naturally, attention then had to turn to Sinner’s chances at Wimbledon and whether such a defeat would lower expectations.

Roddick, though, remained confident: ‘The position I was never in, Steve, is going into a grand slam on your worst surface and still saying you’re on the top three list of favourites.

‘And I think that’s what I… Yeah, I mean, like, we have to have all these conversations and criticisms with a dose of reality, right?

Jannik Sinner’s historical Wimbledon performance

‘It’s not his best surface. It’s probably his least favourite surface. And in my mind, he’s still one of the top three favourites to win Wimbledon, along with Alcaraz, and Novak.

‘I don’t know if that changes because Bublik played great for an hour-long stretch, three out of five sets is a different animal over the course of two weeks. It is a different animal, and Sinner’s only going to be better. The footing at Wimbledon is just frankly better than it is at Halle, especially on the sides where the shadows kind of, you know, create a little slippery mechanism, you know, for hours at a time.’

‘Listen, he’s going to want to be better but I don’t think this is a shocking loss. Bublik could be on a shortlist for top 10-15 grass court players if he’s on form and engaged.’

It is useful to take defeats like this with a pinch of salt, bearing in mind just how dominant the Italian has been over the last two years.

What he’s been doing is not normal, and so a random loss such as this feels so much more alien because of the impossibly high standards he has set.

He is no less of a player now than he was before, and will remain a big favourite to challenge at the All-England Club.