Can't beat the heat: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner falls in second round of hot 2026 French Open

Sinner came back to the court with an ice pack around his neck. It didn't help. The Italian standout lost the third set 5-7.

From there, things continued to spiral for Sinner. The 24-year-old dropped 18 of his next 20 games and bent over in exhaustion several times during this span. The drained Sinner ultimately lost the match 6-3, 6-2, 5-7, 1-6, 1-6. He's the first No. 1 seed on the men's side to fail to advance past the second round of the French Open since Andre Agassi in 2000.

Cerundolo expressed sympathy for Sinner, who had been riding a 30-match winning streak.

"Of course, it's tough for him. He was leading the match. I couldn't win more than three games per set. So, I think I was a little bit lucky," he said in his on-court interview after pulling off the stunning upset. "I feel sorry for him because he deserves to win a lot of majors and, of course, he was determined to win in this match."

The 2026 French Open was viewed as one of four-time Grand Slam winner Sinner's best chances to win another, as longtime rival Carlos Alcaraz (World No. 2) didn't stand in his way. The seven-time Grand Slam champion isn't playing at Roland-Garros because of a right wrist injury he suffered in the first round of the Barcelona Open in April.  

Now, however, Sinner has failed to capture two of the four Grand Slams. He lost to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open semifinal on Jan. 30. His next two chances to win one are at Wimbledon (June 29-July 12) and the U.S. Open (Aug. 23-Sept. 13). That spoils what could've been one of the best seasons of his career. It's unfortunate for Sinner that he just couldn't beat the heat at the 2026 French Open.