05/28/26 10:13:00
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05/28 10:12 CDT Top-ranked Jannik Sinner loses in the French Open second round
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner loses in the French Open second round
By ANDREW DAMPF
AP Sports Writer
PARIS (AP) --- Overwhelming favorite Jannik Sinner is out of the French Open in
the second round.
The top-ranked Sinner struggled with dizziness amid the heat wave in Paris and
lost to 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 after wasting
a chance to serve for the match on Thursday.
"I didn't feel very well on court," Sinner said. "I struggled, starting to feel
very dizzy, very low on energy."
Sinner said when he woke up on Thursday he "didn't feel very well."
Sinner was on a 30-match winning streak stretching back to February and he was
widely expected to complete a career Grand Slam by taking the only big title
missing in his tennis career --- especially with two-time reigning champion
Carlos Alcaraz out due to an injured right wrist.
Sinner bent over on the clay court in apparent exhaustion multiple times and
was hardly even running for shots as the match wore on, resorting to drop shots
and serve-and-volley tactics to try and shorten the points.
He attempted to cool himself with a hand-held fan on changeovers and put bags
of ice around his neck.
The temperature at the start of the match was 29 degrees C (84 F) and rose to
32 C (90 F).
"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 didn't celebrate too much when it was over, just producing a little
wave to the crowd.
"It's tough for him," Cerundolo said. "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 led by two sets and 5-1. When he served for the match a second time at
5-4, 0-40, he bent over and then walked to his chair. He asked for assistance
and left the court. His entire light blue outfit was soaked through with sweat.
After losing the set 7-5, Sinner received medical attention and left the court.
Minerals were added to his drink when he returned but Sinner wasn't able to
recuperate.
Sinner last lost on Feb. 19 in the Qatar Open quarterfinals. He had won five
straight Masters titles and hardly dropped a set.
But he has a history of struggling in the heat. He admitted he was lucky at the
Australian Open in January against Eliot Spizzirri when the roof was closed and
the third-round match swung his way.
Sinner had to retire from a match in Shanghai in October that was contested
amid extreme heat.
On the same Court Philippe Chatrier last year, Sinner wasted three match points
against Alcaraz and lost an epic final.
17-year-old advances
In other matches, 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame became the youngest man to
reach the third round of a Grand Slam since Rafael Nadal was also 17 at 2003
Wimbledon after beating Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 5-7, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (8).
And Cerundolo's older brother, Francisco, beat Hugo Gaston 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
In women's action, Naomi Osaka put on another fashion show for her walk-on
before beating Donna Vekic 7-6 (1), 6-4.
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AP Sports Writers Samuel Petrequin and Jerome Pugmire contributed to this
report.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
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