Jannik Sinner lost to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open.
The world number one and top seed struggled physically, losing 18 of the last 20 games against his Argentine opponent on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Where does Jannik Sinner’s defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo rank among the most shocking results in tennis history?
After the match, former Wimbledon semi-finalist Sam Querrey identified a ‘major problem’ that Sinner and his team must address.
Sam Querrey says Jannik Sinner has a ‘major problem’ with cramps
During TNT Sports’ post-match coverage, Querrey delivered his verdict on Sinner’s shocking defeat.
“[Jannik] Sinner’s camp knows this is an issue, right?” he said.
“They have prepped for this.
“They know it’s going to be hot. What should they do if he’s cramping?
“It’s not like they were just winging it out there.
“This is a major problem for Jannik Sinner moving forward.
“He has one of the best teams around him, and they are prepped for this situation, but they have no answer.”
Sinner was the overwhelming favourite to win the French Open, more so than any other player since Rafael Nadal in 2009.
However, many highlighted the heat as Sinner’s biggest obstacle in Paris.
After the match, Sinner insisted the heat wasn’t the reason he lost, but it can’t have helped.
On several occasions, the Italian has struggled with cramps, especially in hot weather.
Unfortunately for Sinner, cramps aren’t an easy problem to solve.
If you are more susceptible to cramping, that’s often something that follows you throughout your career.
In the aftermath of Sinner’s Roland Garros exit, some argued he should spend time practising in hot conditions as a preventative measure.
But he’s already done just that, having completed his pre-season training in Dubai.
There’s no quick fix, but Sinner, Darren Cahill, Simone Vagnozzi, and Umberto Ferrara certainly have work to do over the coming months.
John Isner shares his theory on why Jannik Sinner was scheduled first on Court Philippe Chatrier
For the first time in several years, the men’s world number one was scheduled to play the opening match of the day on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Some suggested that Sinner’s team requested the early slot to avoid the hottest conditions, but Cahill denied those claims during a pre-match interview with TNT Sports.
“I think if we were trying to get away from the sun, we would have asked for the night match or first match on [Suzanne] Lenglen,” he said.
“No, we knew after he won his first round that he’d probably be first or second on Chatrier today, so for us it didn’t matter if he was first or second. He was scheduled first, no problems for us.”
After the match, John Isner shared his thoughts on the scheduling decision.
“I just think the tournament did not want to put him in straight night sessions,” he said.
“The hot weather is going to break on Saturday, so he had one match in the heat, and they did not want to put him in three straight night matches and say this is unfair to the number one player in the world.
“He played his first match at night, and if he got through, I’m sure his third match would have been at night.
“They did not want to put him three times in a row in the best conditions.”
Would Sinner have beaten Cerundolo had they played in the later session? We will never know…
Who will play today’s first match on Court Philippe Chatrier?
Two women’s matches will kick off Friday’s action on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Iga Swiatek will take on her countrywoman Magda Linette before Mirra Andreeva plays Marie Bouzkova.
Then, in the heat, Novak Djokovic will play Joao Fonseca before Alexander Zverev meets Quentin Halys in the cooler evening session.
Court Philippe Chatrier order of play – Friday
- 1. Iga Swiatek vs Magda Linette
- 2. Mirra Andreeva vs Marie Bouzkova
- 3. Novak Djokovic vs Joao Fonseca
- 4. Alexander Zverev vs Quentin Halys
Court Suzanne Lenglen order of play – Friday
- 1. Andrey Rublev vs Nuno Borges
- 2. Karolina Muchova vs Jil Teichmann
- 3. Elina Svitolina vs Tamara Korpatsch
- 4. Casper Ruud vs Tommy Paul
Court Simonne Mathieu order of play – Friday
- 1. Marta Kostyuk vs Viktorija Golubic
- 2. Rafael Jodar vs Alex Michelsen
- 3. Alex de Minaur vs Jakub Mensik
- 4. Belinda Bencic vs Peyton Stearns
