Juan Manuel Cerúndolo sent Jannik Sinner out of the French Open on Thursday, beating the world No. 1 in the second round after the Italian's level collapsed in the heat at Roland Garros. Sinner led 6-3, 6-2, 5-2 before Cerúndolo turned the match around in Paris.
The loss ended a 30-match winning streak and gave Cerúndolo, ranked No. 56, one of the biggest wins of his career. Sinner had looked in control until the finish line came into view; then his movement slowed, his focus slipped and the match began to tilt.
That was the reason people were searching for his name on Thursday. Temperatures at Roland Garros were around 90 degrees, and the French Tennis Federation said the conditions were still not enough to trigger the French Open's heat rule, which allows 10-minute breaks if the Wet Bulb Globe Temperature reaches 86 degrees or higher. Outdoor matches are suspended only if the temperature hits 90 degrees, and there have been no suspensions this year.
Sinner said in a news conference that he woke up not feeling very well, then grew dizzy and felt cramps running up his legs when he was four points from the third round. He also pushed back against the idea that the heat alone had beaten him, saying it was warm, but not crazy warm, even as the physical problems were obvious on court.
The contrast with his recent results made the upset sharper. In March, Sinner won the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells against Daniil Medvedev on a baking hot day, and in January he had nearly lost at the Australian Open before Novak Djokovic beat him in hot conditions. Thursday in Paris left a different question hanging over him: whether the issue was heat, illness or something else entirely.
For now, Cerúndolo moves on and Sinner is left with the kind of defeat that reaches beyond a single match. The world No. 1 did not just lose a lead in Paris; he lost his grip on a tournament that had looked to be his until his body began to fail him.
