French Open 2025: John McEnroe wonders if Jannik Sinner dominance will 'come back to haunt him' after commanding win over Alexander Bublik

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TNT Sports expert John McEnroe wondered whether Jannik Sinner's dominance in the early rounds of the French Open could come back to haunt him after the world No. 1 eased into the last four of the French Open. Sinner is chasing a maiden title at Roland-Garros, and cruised past Jack Draper's conqueror Alexander Bublik 6-1 7-5 6-0 in an hour and 51 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

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TNT Sports expert John McEnroe has questioned whether Jannik Sinner's dominance will "come back to haunt him" as he eased into the French Open semi-finals.

The world No. 1 did the business in an hour and 51 minutes against Alexander Bublik, beating the Kazakh 6-1 7-5 6-0 to book his place in the last four.

The Italian is hunting his first title in Paris to follow up his second Australian Open crown which he won back in January.

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He will face the winner of Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, with the pair set to face off in the night session on Wednesday - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.

McEnroe said afterwards that Bublik, Jack Draper’s conqueror in the last 16, never threatened the top seed, who has not dropped a set in his run to the last four.

"It was a combination [of Bublik not being good enough and Sinner being too good]," the American said.

"The wear and tear of his first Grand Slam quarter. How was he feeling emotionally and physically? He said it was the best day of his life [beating Draper]. Then you got to come back down to earth and play the No. 1 seed. It was like he looked happy to be there, and in the first set his nerves got the better of him.

"He played the way he was capable of in one set for 30, 40 minutes, then he looked like he was in a rush to get off the court. Maybe he’s got a flight in the next couple hours, the way he talked before against [Alex] de Minaur, in that he could be home in two hours. It started to have that look to it midway through the third set. Sinner was never threatened at all."

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Bublik’s magnificent run at Roland-Garros came to an abrupt halt with his humbling defeat, particularly as he was bagelled in the third set, with McEnroe pointing out a pattern when it came to lower-ranked players needing to follow up a shock victory at a Slam.

"It happens way too often when you get these results - the match of your life - and then you’re brought back down to earth rather quickly by the top players," McEnroe said.

As for Sinner, McEnroe shrugged off any suggestion that the Italian’s lack of match play would prove an issue for him going into the final stages of the year’s second Slam.

Sinner served a three-month ban following the Australian Open after testing positive for a banned substance, clostebol.

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"He looked good in Rome, but in the second set against Alcaraz [in the final], maybe a little fatigue set in, a little discouragement," McEnroe continued.

"If you’d said that he’d be in the semis and not have lost a set, he’d have taken that in a heartbeat. Obviously, [Djokovic or Zverev] is going to make it a whole lot tougher. That will be the test in the fourth or fifth set. Will that come back to haunt him?

"It could be a blessing in disguise. He’s hungry, fresh, and his legs are there. Everything that Darren Cahill has told me in the last couple of weeks is that they put in a lot of work to get the body and mind right. He looks like he’s right where he left off in Australia at the moment. He’s hitting the ball incredibly."

McEnroe also revealed that Court Philippe-Chatrier was not at full capacity, with many French fans feeling "exhausted" and "exhilarated" by Lois Boisson’s stunning win over Mirra Andreeva just prior to Sinner’s match.

McEnroe, a former French Open finalist, said that when Sinner began to run away with the match in the final set, there was a feeling of boredom around the arena.

"I don’t think they all came back," McEnroe said of the Chatrier crowd.

"They seemed a bit exhausted or exhilarated. They sat back and waited to see what Bublik had to offer, which wasn’t a whole lot. They saw Sinner playing great, doing his thing and getting it done quickly. Dare I say, a little boredom set in, especially in the third once Bublik went down that break and everyone knew it was over.

"The only time it got interesting was towards the end of the second when Bublik looked as though he could win that, but the last time Sinner lost his serve was against [Arthur] Rinderknech in the third set [of round one]. It never felt like there was anything Bublik could do to make it close."

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