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Top-ranked tennis pro Jannik Sinner was a single game away from defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo in straight sets in the second round of the French Open on Thursday. Then, the overwhelming Paris heat took hold of him, and the Italian ultimately had his impressive winning streak snapped in stunning fashion.
Sinner entered Thursday’s match against the unseeded Argentine on a 30-match winning streak going back to February. In the early stages of the match, it appeared that the 24-year-old was going to cruise to victory after winning the opening two sets with ease and grabbing a 5-1 lead in the third.
Then, things changed, and in a hurry.
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Just minutes away from securing the straight-set victory, Sinner unthinkably lost 18 points in a row with the temperature, both literally and figuratively, rising on the court. Serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, Sinner seemingly couldn’t go anymore, abruptly bent over on the court, and was attended to by medical staff.
Sinner claimed that he felt sick, which led to him being allowed to leave the court for a period of time to have his blood pressure taken. After returning to the court following what some may claim was preferential treatment, he lost the set 7-5.
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While dealing with cramps and clear heat exhaustion, he essentially went through the motions while dropping 18 of the remaining 20 games in the match, falling 6-1, 6-1 in the final two frames.
The temperature at the start of the Sinner-Cerundolo match was 84 degrees Fahrenheit before jumping to just above 90 degrees in the later stages.
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Entering the event, Sinner was the overwhelming favorite to run through the bracket at Roland Garros to complete the career Grand Slam, especially considering that Carlos Alcaraz was not competing due to injury. Now, he’ll have to wait another year to try to become just the 10th men’s player to complete the career achievement.
Thursday’s defeat was not the first time Sinner has struggled mightily in high temperatures. In January, he came out flat against American Elio Spizzirri at the Australian Open. The roof of the arena was eventually closed during the third-round match, and Sinner was able to win in four sets before ultimately falling to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
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