Jannik Sinner faced an unexpected defeat in the second round of the Halle Open.
After recovering from a heartbreaking loss at the French Open final, Sinner secured his first match in Halle by defeating Yannick Hanfmann with a score of 7-5, 6-3.
However, Sinner’s stay in Germany was brief, as he fell to Alexander Bublik in the second round, losing 6-3, 3-6, 4-6.
This marked Sinner’s first defeat to a player other than Carlos Alcaraz since August 2024, adversely affecting his preparations for Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz comments on recovery time needed after a hard loss
Following Alcaraz’s victory over Arthur Rinderknech at the Queen’s Club Championships, he was asked about the recovery period for players like Sinner after a tough defeat.
“The recovery period depends on the match. Some lengthy matches I have lost weren’t too difficult to bounce back from, while others were mentally more challenging,” he explained. “For him, that final was hard to cope with—mentally, I reckon he could take two to three days at least to recover from such a tough loss.”
Carlos Alcaraz eyes ranking gap closure at Queen’s
While Sinner falters, Alcaraz continues his winning streak, which has now reached 16 matches with his latest win at Queen’s. If Alcaraz clinches the title at the 2025 Queen’s Club Championships, he could significantly reduce the points gap between him and Sinner at the top of the ATP rankings.
A gap of 1,130 points would then separate the two players, though Alcaraz has more points to defend at Wimbledon than Sinner, who only needs to safeguard 400 points based on his previous year’s quarterfinal run.
This presents Sinner an excellent chance to widen his lead atop the ATP rankings as the season progresses, though Alcaraz may very well reclaim the top spot later in the year when hard court tournaments return.
