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Jannik Sinner beat Alexander Bublik at the Miami Open on Wednesday, becoming the youngest Italian to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 tournament. While the match-up between the two upcoming players was interesting itself, the main point of discussion was the pair's interaction at the net.
"You are not a human, man," Bublik said to Sinner at the net. "You are 15 years old, and you play like this. Good job."
During his press conference after the win, Jannik Sinner was probed about Bublik's comment at the net. The Italian responded in typically understated fashion, shrugging off the "not human" tag and claiming that he only played the important points well.
"He said, 'I'm not human' and obviously playing against him is never easy," Jannik Sinner said. "Today I was break down, you know, in the tiebreak. At some points I played well, two good points from 5-4 down. But he was serving and I managed to win that."
"Obviously when he says that you are (not human) I'm surprised," Sinner added. "Actually, you know, I think I played good in important points today and that's it."
Alexander Bublik showered further praise on Jannik Sinner during his post-match presser. In particular, the Kazakh remarked that Sinner is very strong physically and mentally for someone his age.
The Italian on his part was appreciative of Bublik's comments, but he added that there still was room for improvement.
"It's a pleasure hearing that but, you know, I'm 19 and I still have to improve," Sinner said. "Some matches you play good, maybe make some mistakes. For me the most important thing is to stay there every point, trying your best every match and practice session and then something is coming for sure."
The Italian also expressed hope that he would be an even better player at this time next year, betraying his lofty ambitions.
"At 19 you can only improve, I hope next year I'm another player," Sinner said.
"It's tough to say if this is the best week I've had, we'll see at the end of the week" - Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner had ended 2020 by winning his maiden ATP Tour title at the Sofia Open. He then started his 2021 season by claiming his second career ATP title at the Great Ocean Road Open.
Besides these two title triumphs, Sinner had also reached the last eight at Roland Garros, where he lost to 13-time champion Rafael Nadal.
The Italian's run to the last four at Miami is certainly one for the highlights reel at this point of his career, along with the aforementioned achievements. In that context, Jannik Sinner was asked if this was his best week on the pro tour since his debut.
In response, the 19-year-old claimed that he'd have to wait till the end of the week to know for sure, as he still had some big matches to play at Miami.
"It's tough to say if this is the best week I've had," Sinner said. "Yeah it can be, or maybe not. It depends on how it goes. Obviously I'm very happy being in the semifinals but tomorrow is a tough match once more."
"It's not easy for sure," he added. "I think saying best week is difficult and if somebody asks me, it's tough to answer. We will see at the end of the week."
