Juan Manuel Cerundolo ends Italian's 30-match win streak
Jannik Sinner’s bid for his first Roland-Garros title came to an end in dramatic fashion on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Thursday afternoon, the world No. 1 falling to 56th-ranked Argentinian Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.
Cerundolo becomes the lowest-ranked player to defeat a World No.1 at Roland-Garros since 1998, and the lowest-ranked player to defeat a World No.1 from two sets down at a Grand Slam since 1973.
Sinner had done everything but close out the win when a bout of cramps hit him in the third set. He was leading 5-1 at the time, but appeared to suffer in agony the rest of the way as Cerundolo capitalised on the situation to notch the biggest win of his career.
“I think I was a little bit lucky,” Cerundolo said after his draw-shattering upset. “I feel sorry for him – he was serving to win the match.”
Given a golden opportunity, the 24-year-old didn’t miss a beat. He forced Sinner into the corners as he mounted his charge, never letting the four-time major champion catch a second wind.
"I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy," Sinner said. "Very low of energy. Tried to serve it out, but didn't have a lot of energy. Fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth... then it went a bit downwards."
Sinner said he didn't feel well, even before the match.
"Woke up this morning, didn't feel very well and tried to keep the points very short," he said. "Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that's it.
Sinner has been plagued by the heat before, including earlier this year in Australia, where he cramped during his third-round match with American Eliot Spizzirri. The invocation of the tournament’s heat rule that day, and subsequent roof closure, gave him time to recover and win that match in four sets, but there was nothing to help him in Paris on Thursday.
Sinner executed his gameplan to perfection in the early moments, shortening points by attacking the net 39 times in the first three sets and winning 27 of those points. He saw his fortunes change just as he arrived on the cusp of victory.
Sinner was leading 5-1 and well on his way to achieving victory in under two hours when he first started showing signs of suffering.
The Italian served for the match twice, at 5-2 and 5-4, but was so fatigued he didn’t win a point in either game. His velocity on serve, meanwhile, had dropped by approximately 15km/h from his previous match average.
Cerundolo, steady and composed in a bizarre situation, didn’t put a foot wrong, even after Sinner emerged from an off-court medical timeout with a bit more energy.
The Argentinian reeled off 18 consecutive points, and after notching 20 of 21 he had his first lead, at 6-5 in the third.
Sinner won two points while serving to force a tiebreak, but couldn’t hold on.
The fourth and fifth sets unfolded similarly, Sinner waiting for a second wind that never came and Cerundolo grinding through the gears against his hindered opponent.
Cerundolo saved all eight break points he faced in the final two sets to further frustrate Sinner.
Sinner’s run of 30 consecutive victories was snapped, and the Italian drops to 6-12 lifetime in five-set matches in his career.
He was also riding an 18-match winning streak on clay, with Masters titles at Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome in tow.
The 24-year-old Italian is the first top-seeded man to lose in the round of 64 at Roland-Garros since Andre Agassi in 2000, and 2026 is the first year that the men’s singles draw has seen both the world No.1 and world No.2 fail to reach the third round in Paris.
"It's tough to accept, of course, because of the position where I've been in and everything considered, but now I have a lot of time to recover," Sinner said.
ROLAND-GARROS
18 May - 7 June 2026
