Sinner crashes out of French Open in second round
World number Jannik Sinner has crashed out of the 2026 French Open following a disappointing 6-2, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 1-6 loss to Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday at Roland Garros.
The Italian was on a 30-match winning run stretching back to February but he failed to hold on to victory despite winning the first two sets to open up a 5-1 lead going into the third set.
Sinner struggled physically in the third set losing 15 points in a row before calling for a medical timeout and treatment in the middle of a game when he was 6-3 6-2 5-1 ahead.
He subsequently lost the next six games before and after treatment to do down 7-5 in the third set.
Cerundolo found his feet to win the last three sets before holding on to seal a stunning victory to book his place in the next round of the tournament.
Sinner suffered his earliest exit at a major since losing at the same stage of the French Open in 2023.
He revealed that he was not feeling well before the encounter and he had no energy to compete in the clash.
Sinner said: “I didn’t feel very well on court. I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy, very low on energy.
“I tried to serve it out but didn’t have a lot of energy. In the fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. The first one was a very important game and I couldn’t hold. Then it went a bit downwards.
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“I woke up this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that’s it.
“The middle of the third set, even though I was playing some great tennis, but I really couldn’t find any energy today.
“It was a tough spot to be in. But, again, this is the sport. It was warm but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite okay to play. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.”
Cerundolo, the world number 56 with just two Grand Slam match wins before this tournament, was delighted to beat Sinner.
He said: “I’m super happy. I’m going to keep trying to play my best. It’s a tournament I really like to play, clay is my best surface.
“Of course he wasn’t feeling well. He hadn’t lost more than three games in a set before that, so I was a little lucky.
“He was serving for the match. I don’t know if it was pressure or cramps… it’s unfortunate for him.”
Cerundolo is the first man to oust the top seed at the clay-court major before the third round since Karol Kucera in 2000.
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the past nine major titles between them but the tournament is set for a fresh winner with both of them not in the running to win.
Alcaraz was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a wrist injury.
