What did Alexander Bublik say to Jannik Sinner at net after Vienna loss?

Tennis fans will often say, “I’m just here for the handshake” when an explosive end-game interaction between two players is imminent. But Alexander Bublik has created the platonic ideal of that idiomatic expression, regularly using the net as a stage for an impromptu stand-up set filled with jokes about his own game and praise for his opponent’s.

One such tight two took place at the Erste Bank Open on Friday when Bublik lost a decisive 6-4, 6-4 quarterfinal to top seed Jannik Sinner. The match ended as expected, with Bublik quickly looking to trade his racquet for a microphone as he sent Sinner to the umpire’s chair giggling from a slew of the Kazah’s presumed zingers.

We say “presumed” because, unfortunately for fans, there was no microphone, and Bublik’s monologue went entirely unheard to all besides Sinner himself.

Still, there’s plenty of past handshakes between Bublik to Sinner which we can use to infer what was said today. After all, Bublik has been aggressively complimenting his Italian rival since at least their second meeting at the 2021 Miami Open.

Then just 19 years old, Sinner was on the way to making his first Masters 1000 final when Bublik first called attention to the idea that the field needed to watch out for the teenager.

“You’re not human,” he exclaimed as they shook hands. “You’re 15 years old and you play like this? Good job!”

His praise evolved with technology at the 2025 US Open, proclaiming Sinner was “like an AI-generated player after their fourth-round clash.

Bublik has twice solved the so-called AI puzzle, including earlier this year at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, but though Sinner boasts a 6-2 head-to-head, the No. 16th-ranked Bublik remains undefeated at the net.

On the court, Sinner will aim to continue his solid form ahead of the Nitto ATP Finals, booking a semifinal clash with Turin hopeful Alex de Minaur. Seeded third in Vienna, De Minaur edged past Sinner’s countryman Matteo Berettini, 6-1, 7-6 (4) to boost his chances of reaching the ATP Finals for a second straight year.