Jannik Sinner said he ran out of energy and “hit the wall” as his 30-match winning run came to an abrupt halt in the second round of the French Open overnight.
World No 1 Sinner, the red-hot favourite at Roland Garros this year, suffered a dramatic five-set defeat by Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo after a sudden collapse on another sweltering day in Paris.
Sinner appeared to be cruising to victory, holding a two-set lead and a commanding 5-1 advantage in the third, before completely unravelling and sliding to a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss.
“I had no energy today. That can happen. Nobody is a robot,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion, who complained of dehydration and dizziness, saying he felt as though he might vomit.
The Italian left Court Philippe Chatrier to receive medical treatment while serving for the match. He returned minutes later but Cerundolo sensed his opportunity against an ailing opponent.
Sinner arrived in Paris on the back of winning all three of the clay-court Masters titles, with his odds of completing a career Grand Slam enhanced further by the absence of injured rival Carlos Alcaraz.
For Cerundolo, who goes on to play Martin Landaluce in the last 32, it was just the third Grand Slam match win of his career.
The Buenos Aires native didn’t blink as Sinner tried to gamely hang on, Cerundolo putting away the struggling top seed to pull off a monumental upset.
Remaining top 10 men’s seeds at French Open:
2 - Alexander Zverev (0 grand slams, three finals)
3 - Novak Djokovic (24 grand slams, 38 finals)
4 - Felix Auger-Aliassime (0 grand slams, 0 finals)
5 - Ben Shelton (0 grand slams, 0 finals)
8 - Alex De Minaur (0 grand slams, 0 finals)
10 - Flavio Cobolli (0 grand slams, 0 finals)
Source: NZ Heranld
Source: NZ Heranld
