Roland Garros: Sinner succumbs to the heat, loses in 5 sets to Argentina's Cerundolo
After the first two sets were dominated by Sinner 6-3, 6-2, the Argentine won the next two instalments 7-5, 6-1 6-1.
by Carlo Festa
Jannik Sinner exits in the second round of Roland Garros, the second Grand Slam round of the season, being played on the clay courts of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris.
The Italian, world number one and first seed, surrendered to the Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo, number 54 in the Atp ranking (now number 49 best ranking - and brother of the better known Francisco, number 24 in the Atp ranking, with the score of 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 in three hours and 34 minutes.
The South Tyrolean dominates the match until 6-3, 6-2, 5-1, here he has an obvious physical decline, probably due to the great heat with gastric problems and cramps. At that point, he suffered an 18-game to 2 defeat, losing the third, fourth and fifth sets. In the very last fraction Sinner's situation precipitates, as he suffers three consecutive breaks.
"I don't feel good, I need to throw up," he says before walking off the court with the physiotherapist in the final stages of the third set. From there on it was an ordeal for the reigning Wimbledon champion who could not push his shots and struggled to move.
In contrast, Cerundolo gave nothing away and took advantage of his opponent's obvious problems without distraction. For Sinner it was the 12th knockout in 18 matches that came in the fifth set.
