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Top-ranked Jannik Sinner was stunned in the second round of the French Open, bowing out in a grueling five-set match against 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The Italian, widely tipped as a favorite for the title, fell 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday at Roland Garros.
Sinner struggled with dizziness and exhaustion amid a Paris heat wave, hampering his performance throughout the match. “I didn’t feel very well on court,” Sinner said. “I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy, very low on energy.” Earlier in the day, he admitted he had woken feeling unwell.
Despite a commanding two-set lead and a 5-1 advantage in the third, Sinner could not close out the match. At 5-4 in the third set, serving for the match at 0-40, he bent over and requested assistance before leaving the court. His light blue outfit was soaked in sweat. After Cerundolo took the set 7-5, Sinner received medical treatment but was unable to recover, losing the fourth and fifth sets 6-1, 6-1.
Sinner had been on a 30-match winning streak since February and was favored to claim his first career Grand Slam, especially with two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by an injured wrist. He was visibly drained as the match wore on, relying on drop shots and serve-and-volley plays rather than his usual baseline game. He tried to cool down with a handheld fan and ice packs around his neck. The temperature rose from 29 to 32 degrees Celsius during the match.
“It was warm but not crazy warm,” Sinner said. “I feel like it was quite OK to play. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.”
Cerundolo, who showed little celebration at the win, said, “It’s tough for him. I couldn’t win more than three games by set. So I think I was a little bit lucky… He was deserving to win in this match. But then I don’t know what happened… I feel sorry for him and hope he recovers.”
Sinner has a history of heat struggles, having retired from a Shanghai match last October due to extreme conditions and admitting luck at the Australian Open in January when the roof was closed during a tough match. Last year on the same court, he squandered three match points in a final loss to Alcaraz.
In other French Open news, Canadian ninth seed Victoria Mboko secured a three-set win over veteran Czech Katerina Siniakova, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2. Mboko started strong but dropped the first set. She rallied in the final two sets, breaking serve multiple times to clinch the victory. The 19-year-old from Burlington, Ont., will next face 19th seed Madison Keys of the U.S.
Felix Auger-Aliassime also advanced to the third round, defeating Argentina’s Roman Andres Burruchaga 4-6, 6-0, 7-5, 6-1. Auger-Aliassime broke serve seven times and was dominant on his own serve, firing seven aces and winning 85 percent of first-serve points. He will next face the winner of Brandon Nakashima and Luca Van Assche.
A 17-year-old Frenchman, Moise Kouame, became the youngest man in the third round of a Grand Slam since Rafael Nadal at 2003 Wimbledon, beating Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8). Juan Manuel Cerundolo’s older brother, Francisco, also advanced with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 win over Hugo Gaston.
In women’s action, Naomi Osaka continued to impress with a stylish walk-on before defeating Donna Vekic 7-6 (1), 6-4.