The China Mail - Sinner 'hits wall' as French Open bid collapses

World number one Sinner, the red-hot favourite at Roland Garros this year, suffered a dramatic five-set defeat by Argentina's Juan Manuel Cerundolo after a sudden collapse on another sweltering day in Paris.

Sinner appeared to be cruising to victory, holding a two-set lead and a commanding 5–1 advantage in the third, before completely unravelling and sliding to a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss.

"I had no energy today. That can happen. Nobody is a robot," said the four-time Grand Slam champion, who complained of dehydration and dizziness, saying he felt as though he might vomit.

The Italian left Court Philippe Chatrier to receive medical treatment while serving for the match. He returned minutes later but Cerundolo sensed his opportunity against an ailing opponent.

"I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy," added the 24-year-old Sinner.

"I was very, very flat, you know, the whole body. I don't remember last time I felt this weak.

"I woke up this morning, didn't feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. In the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall."

Sinner revealed he began to fade halfway through the third set as temperatures once again climbed above 30C during a record-breaking heatwave in France.

But he refused to blame the conditions for his unexpected exit, his earliest at a Grand Slam since he lost at the same stage here in 2023.

"It was warm, but not crazy warm," said Sinner. "Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.

"I don't want to take anything away from him (Cerundolo). He played a very solid match."

- 'Tough to accept' -

Sinner arrived in Paris on the back of winning all three of the clay-court Masters titles, with his odds of completing a career Grand Slam enhanced further by the absence of injured rival Carlos Alcaraz.

Instead, it was another bitterly disappointing ending at Roland Garros for last year's runner-up who held three championship points 12 months ago before losing to Alcaraz.

"It's tough to accept because of the position I've been in and everything considered, but yeah, now I have a lot of time to recover," said Sinner.

"I won't play any tournament on grass before (Wimbledon). Now I need really some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again.

"As I said, in the beginning of the year, this (the French Open) is my main goal here. A very early exit it was not what I was looking for."

For Cerundolo, who goes on to play Martin Landaluce or Vit Kopriva in the last 32, it was just the third Grand Slam match win of his career.

The Buenos Aires native didn't blink as Sinner tried to gamely hang on, Cerundolo putting away the struggling top seed to pull off a monumental upset.

"It's tough for him (Sinner). I think I was a little bit lucky," said Cerundolo.

"I'm super happy. I'm going to keep trying to play my best. It's a tournament I really like to play, clay is my best surface."

G.Tsang--ThChM