Jannik Sinner denied that heat was behind his stunning French Open loss and instead blamed feeling unwell.
The world number one arrived in Paris as the most overwhelming title favourite since a prime Rafael Nadal but is leaving before the first weekend after a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss to Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday.
Even more shocking than the result was the manner of the second-round loss, with Sinner apparently cruising to victory at 5-1 up in the third set only to lose 18 points in a row.
Sinner’s difficulties in hot weather are well documented, including a narrow escape at the Australian Open this year when he was saved by that tournament’s heat policy, but the 24-year-old insisted this was a different situation.
“I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy,” said Sinner. “Very low on energy. I tried to serve it out, but I didn’t have a lot of energy. 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. I really couldn’t find any energy today. It was a tough spot to be in. It was warm, but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite OK to play.
“It was just me today, but it happens. It was not like I was dying because of the heat. I think today was a completely different scenario.
“I don’t remember the last time I felt this weak. I tried to stay there with all I had today, and this was the maximum I had.”
The trouble Sinner was in became clear in the 10th game of the third set when, trailing 0-40, he sat down on the advertising hoardings.
Controversially, umpire Aurelie Tourte came down off her chair to talk to Sinner before calling the physios onto court, at which point he was taken backstage for a medical assessment.
British number one Tim Henman disagreed with the official’s decision, saying on TNT Sports: “The umpire shouldn’t be getting off her chair. It’s not her responsibility, that’s the player’s responsibility.
“I don’t see why he should get the benefit of going into an air-conditioned room.”
Heat problems such as cramp are normally deemed a loss of condition, for which players are not permitted to take additional time for treatment.
Sinner also headed off court to change his clothes at the end of the third set while he blew air onto his face from a fan and appeared to drink from a can of Coke, but he was not able to recover.
The result blows the men’s tournament wide open, with 39-year-old Novak Djokovic the only player left to have claimed a grand slam title.
It also means, for the first time since Djokovic’s US Open win in 2023, a major crown will be claimed by someone other than Sinner or Carlos Alcaraz, who is missing this tournament and Wimbledon with a wrist injury.
The first week in Paris has been played in an unseasonal heatwave that has affected several players, with Casper Ruud saying he felt like a “zombie” during his first-round match while Czech Jakub Mensik collapsed at the end of a five-set battle on Wednesday.
Both those men managed to win but an additional factor for Sinner is the heavy workload he put his body through coming into the competition.
The top seed was on a 30-match winning run dating back to February and has claimed a record six Masters 1,000 titles in a row, including the big clay events in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
Asked if he regretted such a hectic schedule, Sinner said: “If I don’t play Madrid or if I don’t play Rome, maybe I come here and I still have a day like this where you feel sick.
“I won three tournaments on clay. Incredible results. Amazing streak I’ve had. Of course, as I said, in the beginning of the year, this is my main goal here (in Paris). A very early exit, it was not what I was looking for.”
Sinner, who only needs the French Open title to join Alcaraz in completing the career Grand Slam, will now take a break from competition until defending his title at Wimbledon.
Roland Garros hailed a new hero as 17-year-old Moise Kouame became the youngest man for nearly 40 years to reach the third round of the French Open.
The French teenager, who only celebrated his birthday in March, had never played a best-of-five sets match before this week but he battled for almost five hours to defeat Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6,7-6 (10-8).
Not since a 16-year-old Michael Chang reached the last 32 in 1988 has anyone so young made it this far, while Kouame is the youngest man since Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon back in 2003 to make the third round at any grand slam.
The cheers for Kouame, ranked 318, could be heard all around Roland Garros, with thousands of people watching the dramatic denouement on big screens at the venue as well as those packed into Court Suzanne Lenglen.
“The public gave me a lot of energy to keep going physically and mentally,” he said. “Probably without them, it would maybe be another story. So I’m really happy to have them.”
Kouame’s fellow teenagers Rafael Jodar and Joao Fonseca reached round three while 20-year-old Martin Landaluce is another young star on the rise and he fought back from two sets down to defeat Vit Kopriva 1-6, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-0.
Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime’s hopes are still alive after he came from a set down to defeat Roman Andres Burruchaga 4-6, 6-0, 7-5, 6-1 but fifth seed Ben Shelton is out after losing 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to Raphael Collignon of Belgium.
