French Open favourite loses to 56th-ranked amid dizzy spell

Source : ABC NEWS

Jannik Sinner’s French Open campaign is over after the world number one struggled with illness in a shock second-round loss to Juan Manuel Cerúndolo.

Sinner fell to 56th-ranked Cerúndolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 in a result that stunned the crowd in Paris.

He failed to serve out the match twice, including at 5-1 in the third set.

Cerúndolo claimed 18 of the final 20 games and became the first man to oust the top-seeded player at Roland-Garros before the third round since 2000.

Yet to win a French Open, Sinner arrived in Paris as the favourite for the men’s title after clay-court triumphs in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.

Sinner’s main rival and defending champion, Carlos Alcaraz, was ruled out with injury, and Novak Djokovic is searching for his best form.

But Cerúndolo tore up the script in a dramatic clash where he held his nerve, as last year’s runner-up Sinner crumbled while on the verge of victory.

“I started to feel very dizzy,” Sinner told a packed media conference after the match.

“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.

“It was an important game, the first one. I couldn’t hold. Then it went a bit downwards.

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

Sinner’s loss ended his 30-match winning run stretching back to March.

It also snapped the streak of ‘Sincaraz’ championship victories, with Sinner and Alcaraz winning the last nine men’s majors.

“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.”

‘That’s the sport’

Sinner hailed his opponent for seeing out the win.

“I don’t want to take anything away from him,” Sinner said.

“He played a very solid match, especially in the end, and that’s the sport.”

Cerúndolo said he felt for Sinner.

“It’s tough for him. He was winning the match. I couldn’t win more than three games [in two sets],” Cerúndolo said.

“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.”

Cerúndolo’s brother wins

It was a massive day for Cerúndolo’s family, with his older brother Franciso defeating France’s Hugo Gaston 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.

Among other results, Belgium’s Raphaël Collignon secured the biggest win of his career by stunning American fifth seed Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the third round in Paris for the first time.

Canadian fourth seed Félix Auger-Aliassime shook off a first-set stumble to defeat Román Andrés Burruchaga of Argentina 4-6, 6-0, 7-5, 6-1.

Australian Open quarterfinalist Learner Tien, the 18th seed, prevailed in ‌a four-hour battle with Facundo Díaz Acosta, winning 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

Tien set up a third-round encounter with 10th seed Flavio Cobolli, who beat China’s Wu Yibing 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. 

Australia’s Adam Walton, who defeated former world number one Daniil Medvedev in the first round, departed the tournament at the hands of American Zachary Svajda.

Svajda triumphed 6-3, 6-4, 6-7 (4/7), 6-2.

Reuters