A different version of Jannik Sinner appeared on Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night, and his words before the match foreshadowed the intensity that followed. Speaking to Anna Wintour prior to the last-16 clash in New York, he concluded the exchange with: “Now it’s time for revenge.”

From the opening point Sinner imposed himself. He dismantled a less than fully fit Alexander Bublik, showing no mercy as he controlled the match from start to finish. Bublik met Sinner’s dominance with self-deprecating humour: “You’re so good, this is insane. I’m not bad.”

Sinner attributed part of the result to the toll on his opponent after a long previous match against Tommy Paul. “He had a very tough match the last match,” said Sinner. “He didn’t serve as well as he usually does. I’m very happy. The first time this year I can play the night match here and it makes so, so big difference.”

He also reflected on the flow of the contest and the days when things do not click for an opponent. “Sometimes we have some days off, where certain things don’t work. Some players have some problems behind the scenes, you never know.

“At the end of the day we try to make the sport as interesting as possible. At times I felt today I was playing some great tennis.

“I managed to break him very early. It gave me then the confidence to serve a little bit better and play from the back of the court a bit better.

“It was a fast match but at the same time from my point of view it is good. People come here to see some great tennis matches, some great battles and it’s not always that is the case.

“I don’t know what he said or if he was in here, but I can just judge from my point of view and how I managed to play and it was a good performance from my side.”

The Italian suggested he was “not a machine” when questions came about his dip in form after that match, but against Bublik he was unmistakably on a mission. Bublik had not faced a single break in the 59 times he served at this US Open until this match; Sinner broke him precisely two minutes into the contest and never relented.

Sinner’s victory extended his Grand Slam winning run on hard courts to 25 matches. With the tournament moving forward, a potential meeting with Carlos Alcaraz in the final remains a compelling possibility.

Patrick Mouratoglou has voiced concern about Novak Djokovic’s appetite for the grind of a Grand Slam and his physical freshness as the Serb prepares for the 2025 US Open. Djokovic, the world No 7, won his 24th major at the 2023 US Open and arrives in New York chasing a fifth title at the tournament that would tie Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras and Roger Federer for the men’s singles record.

At 38, Djokovic would become the oldest major singles champion in history if he lifts the trophy. He reached the semi-finals at the first three Grand Slams of 2025 and his last major final came at Wimbledon in 2024, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

In a series of videos on Instagram, Mouratoglou ran through six categories and assigned Djokovic a score out of 10 while assessing the champion’s chances.

“General level: eight out of 10. Enough to be above most of the players, which he does every time. But so far, in the last year, year and a half, not enough to beat Alcaraz and Sinner,” said the Frenchman, who has coached Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka.

“Current form: eight out of 10. Every time he shows up in a Grand Slam, he plays great, but when it gets towards the end of the tournament, he looks either tired or injured and he can’t win.

“Experience to win a Grand Slam: of course, 10 out of 10. He’s the one who won the most Grand Slams in the history.

“Ability to lift his level in big matches: eight out of 10. He was the one who had 11 out of 10 before, but again, in the last two years, with the exception of the Olympics Games where his motivation was at the top, I don’t think his motivation is high enough for him to lift his level enough to beat Sinner and Alcaraz when it comes to semis of Grand Slams.

“Physical and mental freshness: I give him a seven out of 10. Before the tournament, I mean anyone could think he would be a 10 out of 10; he didn’t play at all since Wimbledon. Looked a little bit out of shape, not in terms of play, but in terms of how he spoke after the match.

“And the fact that he doesn’t play any tournament besides Grand Slams and it looks like it’s a choice now, makes it difficult to be fully able to go through a whole Grand Slam in five sets without feeling tired.”

Mouratoglou concluded: “Chances [to win] here: eight out of 10. My prediction: semi-finals.” Djokovic is set to face fourth seed Taylor Fritz in the quarter-final and could meet world No 2 Alcaraz in the last four if he progresses.

Ion Tiriac’s reach in tennis spans six decades and a business empire that places him above the sport’s most famous names in wealth. Born in Brasov in 1939, Tiriac built a playing career in the 1960s and 1970s: he is reported to have won 34 singles titles and reached the French Open men’s singles quarter-final in 1968. His greatest achievements came in doubles, where he and Ilie Nastase were runners-up at the 1966 French Championships and lifted the French Open men’s doubles title in 1970. He was part of the Romanian team that reached three Davis Cup Finals in 1969, 1971, and 1972, and he finished runner-up in the 1979 French Open mixed doubles alongside Virginia Ruzici.

Tiriac also represented Romania in ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. He retired from the tour in 1979 but remained deeply involved in tennis as a coach, manager and tournament owner. He managed a string of high-profile players, beginning with Nastase, and was Boris Becker’s manager from 1984 to 1993. He worked with Marat Safin, Goran Ivanisevic, and Mary Joe Fernandez. Off court he ran the ATP Finals when it was held in Hanover from 1996-1999 and owned the Madrid Open from 2009 until 2021, selling the tournament to IMG for €390 million. The Tiriac Open, an ATP 250 event in Bucharest, is named in his honour.

Outside tennis his business interests include retail, aviation and automobiles, and his biggest success came in banking. He launched the Ion Tiriac Bank in 1990, now known as UniCredit Bank in Romania, the first private bank founded in the country after the fall of the communist regime.

Tiriac was first listed as a billionaire by Forbes in 2007 with a projected net worth of $1b. As of July 2025, Forbes estimates that the 86-year-old has a net worth of $2.3b and ranks him as the 1,678th richest person in the world. He is listed among seven billionaire athletes alongside Roger Federer, Tiger Woods, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Lebron James, and Junior Bridgeman; the latter passed away in March this year. Federer’s reported net worth of $1.1b remains well below Tiriac’s estimate, while Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal are listed at $240m and $220m respectively.

Tiriac has also been a controversial voice in the sport. “Let’s not confuse business with human rights,” Tiriac told Le Monde in 2017.