2-0, then trouble:

LIVE: Drama for Sinner! Top favorite on the brink of elimination

Jannik Sinner was surprisingly forced to throw in the towel!(Bild: AP/Thibault Camus)

Drama surrounding tennis star Jannik Sinner. The top favorite was forced to bow out of the French Open in the second round! He had already taken a 2-0 lead in sets against Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo. He seemed to be making short work of the third set as well—but then the South Tyrolean began struggling with physical issues. The world No. 1 managed to fight his way back onto the court, but was no longer able to keep up. Cerundolo took the remaining three sets, and the tournament’s top favorite was eliminated completely out of the blue! 

For two sets, everything went according to plan. Jannik Sinner, who had been given the first match on Court Philippe Chatrier by the organizers—the first man to do so in three years—didn’t play spectacularly against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, but he was extremely solid and, as expected, raced to a 6-3, 6-2 lead.

When Sinner was also up 5-1 in the third set, his advancement to the third round seemed like a matter of minutes. But suddenly, he lost his rhythm. Sinner didn’t seem quite himself, made uncharacteristic errors, and couldn’t reach the balls anymore. The heat was clearly getting to the South Tyrolean, who complained of feeling dizzy. He won only three (!) of the next 27 points, losing the set 5-7.

Memories of Australia
Afterward, Sinner took a long break. It took the Italian 9:09 minutes to change his clothes and cool off. Memories of his match against Elliott Spizziri in Australia came flooding back, as he had also struggled with the heat there but managed to cross the finish line with renewed energy after a break.

And indeed, Sinner looked somewhat improved at the start of the fourth set. But he wanted to avoid long runs, keeping the rallies short. Between points, he sought to stay in the shade, mostly leaning on his racket. At the changeover, he doused himself with water. And with a prolonged stay on the hot court, things naturally didn’t get any better.

Sinner barely ran for a ball anymore, and Cerundolo took advantage of that to break for a 3-1 lead. When the world No. 1 earned three break points shortly afterward, his fans breathed a sigh of relief—but he couldn’t convert any of them. On the last two points of the game, Sinner simply stood still. And so the fourth set also slipped away quickly, 1-6.

Smashes aren’t working
But the 24-year-old didn’t give up. He knew that if he could somehow turn this match around and recover afterward, his chance at the title would still be very much intact. Especially since significantly cooler temperatures are forecast for the second week. So Sinner tried a new strategy, coming to the net after every serve—and still had to concede the break because even his smashes weren’t working.

Meanwhile, Cerundolo did everything right. He kept the ball in play and tried to make Sinner move, which the latter simply couldn’t do anymore. With two early breaks to make it 4-0, the Argentine, ranked 56th in the world, set the course for victory once and for all. The Italian did have a break point or two, but his opponent coolly fended them off. After 3 hours and 36 minutes, Sinner’s tournament—and with it, his chance to complete the career Grand Slam—was over.