A surprise player will reach the French Open semi-final after Jannik Sinner’s loss at Roland Garros.
A surprise player is sure to make it to a French Open semi-final this year after world number one Jannik Sinner was surprisingly knocked out.
The Italian lost in the second round at Roland Garros on Thursday to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who is ranked 56th in the world.
Sinner made it to the French Open final last year and was the favorite to win this time, especially after Carlos Alcaraz had to pull out due to injury.
He started strong, winning the first two sets easily and leading 5-1 in the third, which looked like the set that would decide the match.
But then he lost three games in a row and had to call for the physio as he was about to lose a fourth.
The 24-year-old said he felt dizzy and wanted to vomit.
Sinner lost the fourth set 6-1 and often seemed too tired to reach the ball.
Cerundolo finished his comeback by winning the fifth set and the match, with Sinner losing 24 of the last 27 points.
In the press conference, Sinner said he had no energy and started feeling dizzy, but he didn’t blame the hot 34-degree weather in Paris.
“I had no energy today. That can happen. Nobody is a robot,” he said.
“I woke up this morning not feeling great and tried to keep points short. At first, I played very well, but then I just hit a wall.
“I started feeling dizzy and very low on energy. I tried to finish the match with my serve, but I just didn’t have enough energy.”
Sinner’s loss means a player outside the ATP top 16 will reach the Roland Garros semi-finals.
American Frances Tiafoe, who made the quarter-finals last year, is the only seeded player left in the first two sections of the draw.
He will play qualifier and world number 117 Jaime Faria in the third round, while number 103 Matteo Arnaldi faces Belgium’s Raphael Collignon, ranked 64th.
After beating Sinner, Cerundolo will meet Spain’s Martin Landaluce, who has reached two ATP 1000 quarter-finals this year.
Tiafoe made the US Open semi-finals twice but hadn’t done much at the French Open before last year.
His main coach is Dr. Mark Kovacs, an expert in biomechanics and sports science, who has been coaching him since January.