At the Grand Slam stage, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been nearly unattainable. The duo has captured 10 of the last 11 Grand Slam titles, with Alexander Zverev at the French Open 2026 being the lone exception. As the tour struggles to match up to their level, Alexander Bublik has now delivered his honest verdict on their dominance.

“At Grand Slams, where [Jannik] Sinner and [Carlos] Alcaraz are at their best and are perfectly prepared, you don’t really have a chance,” Bublik said in a recent interview with Tennis Magazine.

“I have the feeling that the other players have given up – including me, by the way. That changes your goals. I recently spoke to my coach: a Grand Slam victory is almost unattainable when both players are fit. So my goal is: quarter-finals, maybe semi-finals – then I’ll go home happy,” he explained. [Trans. from German]

The 29-year-old’s record against the duo also explains why he feels that way. So far, the former world No. 10 has faced the Italian 8 times during his career.

After losing their first 3 meetings, the Kazakh international came close to a breakthrough at the 2023 Halle quarterfinals. He led 7-5, 2-0 before the current top seed retired because of a muscle injury, leaving the match unfinished.

The two met again in Halle 2 years later, this time in the R16. Bublik produced an impressive comeback to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and later went on to lift the title, which was one of the biggest wins of his career.

Outside of Halle, though, the story has been very different. Bublik has lost all six of his other matches against the five-time Grand Slam champion.

Against the Spaniard, Bublik has had only one meeting to date. The Kazakh lost to the former world No. 1 in the quarterfinals of this year’s Monte Carlo Masters.

Last month, Alexander Zverev finally broke their Grand Slam streak and became the first player other than Alcaraz or Sinner to win a Grand Slam since Novak Djokovic claimed the 2023 US Open.

Still, Sinner quickly returned to winning ways. The 24-year-old Italian defended his SW19 title by defeating Zverev in the final and once again reminded everyone why he sits at the top of the sport.

And while Bublik has now shared his honest thoughts, he also explained why Novak Djokovic has remained the exception and why current ATP players should not think of themselves that way.

Alexander Bublik praises Novak Djokovic for his remarkable Grand Slam runs at 39

Among the rest of the ATP field, Novak Djokovic has remained the only top star to consistently challenge ‘Sincaraz’ at the biggest events. His results over the past 2 seasons have shown that he is still capable of making deep runs.

Last year, the former world No. 1 reached the semifinals at all 4 Grand Slams. This season, he continued that form by advancing to the AO final before losing to Carlos Alcaraz. At SW19, he also reached the semifinals, where Jannik Sinner eventually ended his campaign.

And during the same interview, Bublik was asked if players were beginning to lose belief in their chances of winning on the ATP Tour. “You have to accept that you’re not Novak Djokovic. You won’t win Grand Slams like Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer. You have to learn to accept defeat and deal with it without letting it affect your performance,” he added.

The current world No. 11’s comments reflected the difficult reality many players now face. 

And as for the Kazakh, he entered this week’s Swiss Open as both the top seed and the defending champion. However, his title defense ended earlier than expected after a rain-affected narrow defeat to Quentin Halys.

With the North American hard-court swing now approaching, Bublik will look to put that setback behind him and hope to rediscover his best tennis and produce another strong run in the coming tournament.