Paris - World number one Jannik Sinner was surprisingly eliminated in the second round of the Roland Garros tournament. In a dramatic match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, he lost to the Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerúndolo 6:3, 6:2, 5:7, 1:6 and 1:6 after three hours and 31 minutes. An unexpected physical collapse in the extreme heat cost the 24-year-old from Sexten what was almost a certain victory.
Dramatic collapse in the third set
The match already seemed decided: Sinner dominated the first two sets and took a commanding 5:1 lead in the third. But suddenly the tide turned. At 0:40 in the seventh service game, the world number one showed clear signs of exhaustion. He complained of dizziness, nausea and muscle cramps. „I feel dehydrated, I feel like I'm going to throw up,“ he confided to chair umpire Aurélie Tourte. Sinner then went to the changing rooms for a short medical break.
After his return to the court, the South Tyrolean was visibly weakened and could no longer keep up the high pace. Cerúndolo seized the opportunity, started a race to catch up and turned the third set around to 7:5. Sinner hardly put up any resistance in the following two rounds and was clearly beaten 1:6. The oppressive heat in Paris claimed its next prominent victim. For Sinner, this defeat ends a run of 30 consecutive victories. He will skip the planned tournament in Halle and his next goal is to defend his title at Wimbledon.
Cobolli confidently into round three
Things went better for the Italian Flavio Cobolli. The Roman clearly defeated Yibing Wu from China in three sets 6:4, 6:4 and 6:4. After just over two hours, the number 10 seed secured his place in the third round, underlining his current strong form.
