Jannik Sinner set to take a long break after shock French Open exit: Nobody's a robot

“Nobody's a robot. Nobody's built to never fail,” said World No.1 Jannik Sinner after his shock exit from the French Open on Thursday, May 28. Playing against World No.56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who had never beaten a top-10 player in his career before, Sinner lost 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 1-6 in a match lasting a little over three and a half hours.

On Thursday, Sinner struggled physically in the Paris heat, which played a major role in his second-round defeat. Cruising towards a straight-sets victory, Sinner’s progress was halted while leading 5-1 in the third set and seemingly inches away from closing out the match. The Italian complained of dizziness and requested a medical timeout from the chair umpire.

I HAD NO ENERGY: SINNER

When he returned to the court, Sinner looked like a shadow of himself and struggled badly with movement for the remainder of the contest. The World No.1 first lost the third set 5-7 before collapsing physically in the final two sets, which he lost 1-6, 1-6.

Asked about what happened during the match, Sinner admitted that he simply had no energy left. However, the Italian insisted that the conditions themselves were not extreme enough to be blamed entirely for his defeat.

“Even though I was playing some great tennis, 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. It was nothing against the heat. Nothing against the weather. Just me today. But it happens,” Sinner said in the post-match press conference.

“Nobody's a robot. Nobody's built to never fail. Today it went this way. Today I just didn't see the way out, which normally doesn't happen to me,” he added.

The Italian also revealed that he plans to take a short break from tennis ahead of next month’s Wimbledon Championships. Sinner added that he is unlikely to play any grass-court tournaments in the build-up to the next Grand Slam of the season.

“Now I have a lot of time to recover. I most likely won’t play any tournaments on grass before. Now I really need some time off to recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again for Wimbledon,” Sinner concluded.

Meanwhile, Juan Manuel Cerundolo registered the biggest win of his career by knocking out the World No.1 in Paris. The left-hander remained composed even when Sinner briefly raised his level in the final stages of the match and eventually completed a stunning comeback victory.

Cerundolo will next face Spain’s Martin Landaluce on Saturday, May 30, in the third round of the French Open.