ATP World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, the heavy favorite to win the French Open, is out of the tournament in the second round.
Sinner was defeated by Argentinian world No. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo in a five-set 6–3, 6–2, 5–7, 1–6, 1–6 match. The Italian had been up 5–1 in the third set, but started to struggle physically throughout the set. While up 5–4 and serving for the match, he called a medical timeout and was seen by a physiologist after initially receiving a time violation from the chair umpire.
During Sinner’s conversation with the umpire, he said that he felt dizzy and suggested that he was possibly dealing with dehydration. He also left the court prior to the fourth set.
It was all Cerundolo after the third set, as Sinner appeared to look sluggish throughout the final two and missed his mark making several shots.
According to Google Weather, it was 91 degrees Fahrenheit during the time of Sinner’s match. While several players have already complained about the 90-plus degree weather throughout the French Open’s early rounds, Sinner has historically struggled with heat and endurance in matches.
During this year’s Australian Open, Sinner struggled with heat cramps in a third-round match against Eliot Spizzirri that went to four sets. The same thing happened in the fourth round of the Australian Open against Holger Rune in 2025, which Sinner ended up winning.
Sinner also has a 6-12 record in matches that go to five sets.
With this loss, Sinner breaks a 30-match win streak that extends back to February, which includes the Monte-Carlo masters, Madrid Open, and Italian Open—the three biggest clay tournaments in the leadup to the Roland-Garros tournament.
Now that Sinner is out, world No. 3 Alexander Zverev and No. 7 Novak Djokovic—this year’s Australian Open finalist—are arguably the tournament’s two favorites. With a French Open win, Djokovic would become the first tennis player to win 25 Grand Slams.
The door is also open to possibly an American man winning a Grand Slam, which has not been done since Andy Roddick won the US Open in 2003. World No. 5 Ben Shelton, who has lost to Sinner or Alcaraz in four of his last five Slams, can avoid Djokovic and Zverev until the finals without facing Sinner again.
This French Open also marks the first men’s Grand Slam since the 2023 US Open which was not won by Sinner or Alcaraz.
