Jannik Sinner says he “could not find any energy” as he lost in the second round to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in one of the biggest French Open shocks in recent years – but the world number one did not believe the Paris heat was to blame.
Italy’s Sinner was the heavy favourite for the title, having dominated the men’s tour in recent months, and was on a 30-match winning streak going into Thursday’s match.
After dropping just eight games in his Roland Garros opener against Clement Tabur, Sinner was in similarly commanding form against Cerundolo, leading 6-3 6-2 5-1 before suffering a dramatic physical downturn.
The Italian laboured around the court and lost three successive games before calling for the trainer, saying he felt “dizzy” and “wanted to vomit”.
He took a mid-game medical timeout and left the court at the end of the third and fourth sets, but could not regain his fitness as he fell to world number 56 Cerundolo.
Although several players have attributed their on-court struggles to the unseasonably hot conditions in Paris, with temperatures peaking around 34C, Sinner downplayed the impact.
“I had no energy today. That can happen. Nobody is a robot,” Sinner said.
“I woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep points very short.
“In the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just hit a wall.
“I started feeling dizzy. Very low on energy. I tried to serve it out but I didn’t have a lot of energy.”
Although he has previously struggled in extreme heat, most notably in his third-round win over Eliot Spizzirri at this year’s Australian Open, Sinner said this was “a completely different scenario”.
“It was warm, but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite OK to play,” the 24-year-old said.
“It was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.”