Published on: Sept 02, 2025 09:31 pm IST
The incident, which was caught on the television broadcast, however, did not come up during Jannik Sinner’s post-match press conference.
Reigning US Open champion Jannik Sinner encountered a bizarre incident on Monday after cruising past No. 23 seed Alexander Bublik in the round of 16 at Arthur Ashe Stadium. The world No. 1 dominated the Kazakh 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 in just an hour and 21 minutes to book his place in the New York quarterfinals for the third time.
The awkward moment unfolded after his on-court interview, when Sinner picked up his kit bag and walked towards fans to sign autographs. While he was obliging, one spectator attempted to open his kit bag and steal from it. Security personnel immediately intervened to prevent the theft.
Clearly displeased, Sinner shook his head in disappointment before leaving the court. The incident, which was caught on the television broadcast, however, did not come up during Sinner’s post-match press conference.
Sinner just three wins away
Bublik had defeated Sinner earlier this year in the Halle Open – a warm-up event for Wimbledon. But that was on grass. Although the Italian went on to showcase his talent on the surface, ending Carlos Alcaraz’s reign at the SW19 to win his fourth career Slam, Sinner on hard courts is a totally different story. He won 25 straight Grand Slam matches on that surface, including the last two Australian Open titles, along with his first U.S. Open trophy last year.
Heading into the match, Bublik was in top form, having won all 55 service games. But Sinner broke him eight times in the last 16 tie. Bublik could only smile at times, including after the match, when he told Sinner at the net that “I’m not bad.”
Sinner will next face fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the No. 10 seed, on Wednesday. He is 2-0 in terms of head-to-head tie against Musetti.
“I’m very happy to be again in the quarters. It’s a great result. We try to play as good as we can and then we’ll see what we can achieve this year. But overall I’m very, very happy to be in the quarters,” Sinner said.
