PARIS (AP) — Formidable title favorite Jannik Sinner is out of the French Open in the second round.
Sinner struggled with the heat and wasted a chance to serve for the match in a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss to 56th-ranked opponent Juan Manuel Cerundolo on Thursday.
Sinner was on a 30-match winning streak stretching back to February and the odds were overwhelming he'd complete a career Grand Slam by winning the only big title missing in his tennis career —
especially with two-time reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz out due to an injured right wrist.
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.
He attempted to cool himself with a hand-held fan on changeovers and put bags of ice around his neck.
The temperature at the start of the match was 29 degrees C (84 F) and then rose to 32 C (90 F).
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AP Sports Writers Samuel Petrequin and Jerome Pugmire contributed to this report.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
