Jannik Sinner, another retirement of concern

Jannik Sinner ko in Halle

Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Atp tournament in Halle.

The South Tyrolean, a week away from Wimbledon, suffered a muscle problem in his left thigh during his quarterfinal match against Alexander Bublik.

The Kazakh, who was defeated in the second round of the ATP 250 in S-Hertogenbosch, proved to be on his day by playing evenly with the Italian number one, who on a recovery felt a pain in his leg. Sinner stayed on court, lost the first set 7-5, called a medical time out but after returning to the court lost two more games before raising the white flag.

The hope is that the South Tyrolean has withdrawn as a precaution just ahead of the third slam tournament of the season, where he is expected to be the No. 8 seed, thanks to overtaking Taylor Fritz in the rankings.