French Open 2026: Jannik Sinner wilts in Paris heat

PARIS: The heat wave that has left Paris gasping this week continues to wreak havoc.Desperate for relief from the punishing temperatures, people plunged into the Canal Saint-Martin while others lingered along the Seine deep into the evening, searching for cooler air. At Roland Garros, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner wilted in the heat, the Italian labouring on the brink of victory as the final step proved too much at the French Open.Sinner arrived for the secondround clash on a 30-match winning streak that had delivered a historic run of five consecutive Masters titles, from Indian Wells in March through to Rome last week. Chasing a career Grand Slam in Paris, the 24-year-old Italian appeared in complete control against Juan Manuel Cerundolo, leading 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 before his energy levels dropped alarmingly and the 56th ranked Argentine claimed a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 victory.Cerundolo won 18 of the final 20 games to end Sinner’s Roland Garros campaign, a year after the Italian suffered a heart-breaking defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the Paris final. “I was feeling dizzy, very low on energy. I tried to serve it out, but didn’t have a lot of energy,” said Sinner, who arrived for his post-match press conference an hour after leaving the court.“Fourth set I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. The first game of the fifth set was a very important game, I couldn’t hold,” he said.The Italian looked firmly in control in the third set, powering to a 4-0 lead and earning two break points on Cerundolo’s serve in the fifth game before his level dropped dramatically. “Even though I was playing some great tennis, I really couldn’t find any energy today.,” a dazed Sinner said. “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.”Sinner’s match was the first men’s contest in three years to be given the opening slot on Court Philippe-Chatrier. When play began, temperatures had already climbed to 29 degrees Celsius, and by the time the match ended three hours and 36 minutes later, the mercury had risen to 31. “I think many things come together. I played a lot, I didn’t have a lot of time to recover,” he said. “I didn’t sleep very well. This morning when I woke up, I was struggling a bit.”At the Australian Open this year, Sinner suffered a similar issue in his third-round clash against Eliot Spizzirri when he appeared to have hit the wall, but the tournament’s heat rule came into play and the roof was rolled over the Rod Laver Arena.Sinner and Alcaraz have shared the past nine Grand Slam titles between them. The door is suddenly open for a new champion to emerge for the first time since the 2024 Australian Open.SELECT RESULTS (2nd round)Men: Juan Manuel Cerundolo (ARG) bt 1-Jannik Sinner (ITA) 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1; 10-Flavio Cobolli (ITA) bt Wu Yibing (CHN) 6-4, 6-4, 6-4; 18-Learner Tien (USA) bt Facundo Diaz Acosta (ARG) 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3Women: 1-Aryna Sabalenka (BLR) bt Elsa Jacquemot (FRA) 7-5, 6-2; 17-Iva Jovic (USA) bt Emma Navarro (USA) 6-0, 6-3; 16-Naomi Osaka (JPN) bt Donna Vekic (CRO) 7-6 (1), 6-4; 6-Amanda Anisimova (USA) bt Julia Grabher (AUT) 6-0, ret.YUKI-PANOVA DUO IN MIXED 2ND ROUNDIndia’s Yuki Bhambri and Russia’s Alexandra Panova moved into the second round of the mixed doubles, putting out Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok and Dutchman David Pal 7-6 (2), 7-6 (5). Meanwhile, alternates Anirudh Chandrasekar and Japan’s Takeru Yazuki went down in the men’s doubles 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) to Swiss Jakub Paul and Briton Marcus Willis.