‘Dizzy’ Jannik Sinner falls to Cerundolo in French Open second-round shock

PARIS – Jannik Sinner’s bid for a maiden French Open title and career Grand Slam went up in smoke as he experienced physical issues in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and fell to a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 defeat on a scorching May 28.

Said the world No. 1: “I struggled and started to feel very dizzy, very low on energy. I tried to serve it out but didn’t have a lot of energy.

“In the fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. The first one was a very important game and I couldn’t hold. Then it went a bit downwards.

“I woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall and that’s it.”

He added that he began to struggle in “the middle of the third set”, adding “even though I was playing some great tennis, but I really couldn’t find any energy today”.

Sinner arrived in Paris as the overwhelming favourite for the title, having lifted clay-court titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, with his main rival and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz ruled out with injury and Novak Djokovic searching for his best form.

But Cerundolo tore up the script in a dramatic clash where he held his nerve even as the 2025 runner-up Sinner crumbled, sending shock waves through Roland Garros.

“It’s tough for him. He was winning the match. I couldn’t win more than three games (in any of the first two sets),” said Cerundolo.

“I think I was a little bit lucky. I feel sorry for him... he was serving to win this match, but then I don’t know what happened. I think he was cramping maybe, or maybe it was the pressure of the match, I don’t know.

“But of course I feel sorry for him and I hope he recovers. I’m super happy. I’m going to keep trying to play my best... I hope to be ready for the next match.”

It is Sinner’s earliest exit at a Major since losing at the same stage of the French Open in 2023.

As the temperature climbed over the 30 deg C mark for the first time in the afternoon amid a record-breaking heatwave in France, Sinner had already breezed through the first set on the back of a solitary break, and the 24-year-old Italian looked to be in cruise mode.

Cerundolo offered resistance towards the end of the second set, but the 56th-ranked Argentinian was left with a mountain to climb after Sinner unleashed a huge forehand winner to double his lead in the match for the loss of only five games.

The four-time Grand Slam champion cooled off with an ice towel during the break and turned up the intensity on his unseeded opponent in the third set to go 5-1 ahead, before he began to struggle and halted play when serving at 5-4.

“In the third set, I felt dizzy and I wanted to vomit but I couldn’t,” the Italian was heard saying to an official, before he stepped off the court for a medical timeout.

Sinner returned five minutes later, was immediately broken for 5-5 and dropped the next two games to hand the set to his Argentinian opponent, who sensed the chance to pull off a major upset.

Hitting heavier to quicken the points and also serving and volleying frequently, Sinner looked desperate to avoid the exit but his troubles only increased as he began to clutch his right thigh in the fourth set, which he surrendered tamely.

Quickly losing control, Sinner was broken early in the decider, as Cerundolo took full advantage to leave the Paris Grand Slam without its title favourite and Djokovic with a golden opportunity to win a standalone 25th Major.

Like much of Western Europe, France is experiencing higher-than-normal temperatures in May and Djokovic suggested matches should be pushed back later in the day to combat the heatwave.

“Honestly, with Grand Slams it shouldn’t be an issue generally because we have so many courts. We have lights. You know, there’s no issue. You have big courts. You can play the matches. You can reschedule them some other courts and have still the crowd in the stadium and everything,” he said.

“For example, Umag in Croatia where matches are starting later in the afternoon, you know, 5pm or something, and they play until deep at night.

“Yeah, is that ideal to go over midnight? Yeah, it’s not. But if you have, you know, certain days that you have extreme heat and conditions, then maybe that’s something to consider.”

In the women’s draw on May 28, Japan’s former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka was made to work to beat Croat Donna Vekic 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 in the second round. She will face 17th seed Iva Jovic in the third round, after the American beat compatriot Emma Navarro 6-0, 6-3 earlier. REUTERS, AFP