Sinner shocked in French Open exit as Cerundolo recovers from two-sets down

Jannick Sinner, the world number one and tournament favourite, lost in the second round to 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo at Roland Garros. Sinner entered Paris after winning claycourt titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome, while Carlos Alcaraz was absent with injury and Novak Djokovic was seeking form. Sinner started strongly, winning the first set and leading in the second, but physical problems disrupted his momentum. After a medical timeout, Sinner was broken and then lost the third set. He surrendered the fourth set and was broken early in the fifth, allowing Cerundolo to complete a 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-1 6-1 upset.

"World number one Jannick Sinner beaten by 56th-ranked Argentinian opponent Juan Manuel Cerundolo at Roland Garros. Jannik Sinner's bid for a maiden French Open title and career Grand Slam went up in smoke as he experienced physical issues in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and fell to a 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-1 6-1 defeat."

"As the temperature climbed over the 30 degrees Celsius (86F) mark for the first time in the afternoon, Sinner had already breezed through the first set on the back of a solitary break, and the 24-year-old Italian looked to be in cruise mode. Cerundolo offered resistance towards the end of the second set, but the 56th-ranked Argentinian was left with a mountain to climb after Sinner unleashed a huge forehand winner to double his lead in the match for the loss of only five games."

"The four-time Grand Slam champion cooled off with an ice towel in the break and turned up the intensity on his unseeded opponent in the third set to go 5-1 ahead, before he began to struggle and halted play when serving at 5-4. Sinner returned from an off-court medical timeout five minutes later and was immediately broken for 5-5, and dropped the next two games to hand the set to his opponent, who sensed the chance to pull off a major upset."

"Still not at his best, Sinner surrendered the fourth set tamely and was broken early in the decider, as Cerundolo took full advantage to leave the Grand Slam without its title favourite."

Read at www.aljazeera.com