Jannik Sinner was labelled an “artificial intelligence” player by opponent Alexander Bublik after the defending US Open champion ruthlessly raced into the quarter-finals.
World number one Sinner needed only one hour and 21 minutes – the second-quickest win in the men’s singles this year – to achieve a 6-1 6-1 6-1 victory against Kazakhstan’s Bublik.
Within minutes of his defeat, 23rd seed Bublik wrote ‘AI’ in a comment on the US Open’s Instagram post about the result – reiterating the description he made about Sinner going into Monday’s fourth-round match.
Bublik is one of only two men to beat Sinner this season, but the 24-year-old Italian ensured there was no chance of a repeat with a ruthless performance in New York.
“We had some tough battles this year, but we know each other’s game really well,” said Sinner, who has already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon titles this year.
“He had a tough match [in the third round], five sets, finishing late and he didn’t serve as well as he usually does. Overall I’m very happy.”
Four-time major champion Sinner, who extended his winning streak at hard-court Grand Slam tournaments to 25 matches, took eight of his 17 break opportunities.
Sinner goes on to face 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti in an all-Italian quarter-final.