PARIS (AP) — Not since Rafael Nadal was winning his record 14 French Opens had a player come to Roland Garros as such an overwhelming favorite to win the clay-court Grand Slam.Jannik Sinner had won everything there was to win in tennis over the past three months: five straight Masters 1000 titles — three of them on clay — and 30 straight matches.And with Carlos Alcaraz, his biggest rival, out due to an injured right wrist, it seemed almost a foregone conclusion that Sinner would raise the Coupe des Mousquetaires trophy and complete a career Grand Slam.That’s why Sinner’s meltdown amid the Paris heat wave was so stunning Thursday.The top-ranked Sinner struggled with dizziness and was beaten by 56th-ranked Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 in the second round after wasting a chance to serve for the match.“I didn’t feel very well on court,” Sinner said. “I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy, very low on energy.”
Sinner said that when he woke up on Thursday he “didn’t feel very well.”Sinner bent over on the clay court in apparent exhaustion multiple times and was hardly even running for shots as the match wore on, resorting to drop shots and serve-and-volley tactics to try and shorten the points.
