Andy Roddick Says Jannik Sinner Is Still a Top Wimbledon Favorite Despite Shocking Halle Loss

Jannik Sinner suffered his first loss against a player ranked outside the Top 20 after a run of 66 wins.

Andy Roddick Says Jannik Sinner Is Still a Top Wimbledon Favorite Despite Shocking Halle Loss

Jannik Sinner, Andy Roddick (Image via New York Tennis Magazine, X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

Jannik Sinner suffered one of the biggest shocks of his career after World No.45 Alexander Bublik came from behind to beat him at the Terra Wortmann Open. The Italian star was hoping to defend his title at the tournament and pick up his second trophy of the season, but those hopes were crushed. However, Tennis legend Andy Roddick still believes Sinner remains the top Wimbledon favorite.

Before the match, Sinner had won his past 66 matches against players ranked outside the Top 20. In fact, the last time he lost to a player at that level was back in August 2023. But on Thursday (June 19), Sinner was unable to contain Bublik’s aggressive display on the court and was stunned by the Kazakhstan star.

Bublik had lost to the World No.1 in the Roland Garros quarter-finals two weeks ago, but earned his revenge in style at the ATP 500 event. Sinner had begun the match brilliantly and didn’t face a break point in the 41 minutes that the first set lasted. But the Kazakhstan star started swinging hard and serving with aggression in the second set.

Bublik fired 38 winners, including 15 aces, to overpower Sinner, who looked tired in the third set. He defeated the World No.1 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and four minutes. It was his first win against a World No.1 and fourth against a player in the top 10. But for Sinner, it was his second loss in three matches.

He had arrived for the Terra Wortmann Open following his five-set thriller loss against Carlos Alcaraz at the Roland Garros final. With just one win against Yannick Hanfmann in the opening match, Sinner will be heading to Wimbledon in poor shape. But Andy Roddick revealed on Tennis Channel that Sinner will bounce back at the All England Club:

He’s going into a Grand Slam on his worst surface and still staying he is on the top-3 list of favorites. We have all these conversations and criticism, with a dose of reality, right? It’s not his best surface, it’s probably his least favorite surface, and in my mind, he’s still one of the top three favorites to win Wimbledon along with Alcaraz and Novak (Djokovic). 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 is a different animal, and Sinner is only going to be better.

Sinner has never played his best tennis on a grass court. In fact, he has just one grass title which came at the Terra Wortmann Open last year. But not only that, the Italian star has not won a title since his comeback from suspension in May. Despite reaching two finals in his last three tournaments, there are still worrying signs about his game.

Andy Roddick believes the Wimbledon court will give Jannik Sinner more advantage

Alexander Bublik became the first player apart from Carlos Alcaraz to beat Jannik Sinner since August 2024. The last time Sinner lost to a player other than Alcaraz was at the Canadian Open against Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals. But in the next tournament in Cincinnati, Sinner bounced back to claim the title.

Jannik Sinner, Andy Roddick
Jannik Sinner, Andy Roddick (Image via X/Tennis Channel)

During the conversation above, Andy Roddick revealed that the Wimbledon Championship has the best grass court, which will allow Sinner to play his best tennis:

The footing at Wimbledon is just frankly better than it is at Halle, especially on the sides where the shadows kind of create a little slippery mechanism for hours at a time. Listen, he’s gonna want to be better, but I don’t think this is a shocking loss. I think Bublik could be on a short list, 10-15 best grass court players right now if he’s in form and engaged. I like Bublik on grass a lot.

Sinner has never gotten past the quarter-finals of Wimbledon. Despite the Italian winning the Terra Wortmann Open last year, he succumbed to a defeat against Daniil Medvedev in the last eight. He will have to do more this time around to claim the prestigious grass-court Grand Slam.

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