Jannik Sinner was battling a very good Alexander Bublik at the 2023 Halle Open but the Italian retired down 5-7 0-2 leaving his Wimbledon participation in doubt.
Grass is one tricky surface as we've seen more than once a player injuring themselves days before Wimbledon is set to begin. Jannik Sinner is the latest player that might end up on that list as the Italian retired down a set against Alexander Bublik at the Halle Open leaving his Wimbledon status in doubt.
The Italian is generally known as a very good grass player; one of the few that pushed Djokovic at last year's event. Many fans were excited to see him back on the surface after his Roland Garros finished with a major disappointment against Daniel Altmaier.
He played in Den Bosch last week taking down Bublik and showing some solid tennis before getting beaten by Ruusuvuori. He then made his way to Halle where he played two matches and won both only to run into a much more inspired Bublik. It was a good match, very competitive and close. Bublik broke first but he couldn't serve it out allowing Sinner to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 5-5 tie.
Bublik still applied pressure and ultimately got it done 7-5 in the opening set. The second set started with an early break for Bublik who was up 2-0 when Sinner elected to shake hands. It's unclear what exactly was the reason for his retirement as there wasn't anything that seemed quite obvious but it looks like an injury or some sort of discomfort.
There is about a week until Wimbledon so fans will be hoping that h avoids the fate of Karen Khachanov who withdrew from Wimbledon earlier today. Khachanov was scheduled to play in Halle just like Sinner though he withdrew from that event before taking to the courts.
David Goffin injured his knee in Halle a few years ago as the grass is rather slippery here due to the 'closed' nature of the court.
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