In one of the most stunning upsets of the tennis season, unseeded Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo defeated World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the second round of the French Open today, sending the overwhelming favorite crashing out of Roland-Garros and ending the Italian’s bid to complete the career Grand Slam.
Cerundolo, ranked 56th in the world, recovered from a two-set deficit to win 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The result marked the biggest victory of the 24-year-old’s career and carried him into the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time. He had never previously advanced beyond the second round of a major.
The match turned dramatically in the third set. Sinner, who had cruised through the opening two sets and led 5-1, appeared on the verge of closing out a routine win when Cerundolo reeled off 15 consecutive points to claw back into the contest and force a fourth set. Around the same stretch, Sinner asked to speak with the chair umpire and was granted a medical timeout for what was described as a dehydration-related issue, briefly leaving the court before play resumed.
Sinner was unable to recover his earlier form. Struggling physically through the final two sets, the Italian managed just two games across the fourth and fifth as Cerundolo seized control and ran out the winner in front of a stunned Paris crowd.
The defeat snapped Sinner’s 30-match winning streak, the longest of his career, and represented his first loss on tour since February. The Italian had entered the tournament as a heavy favorite, particularly after rival Carlos Alcaraz withdrew with a wrist injury, leaving the path to a maiden Roland-Garros crown and a career Grand Slam looking unusually clear. Sinner had dominated the clay-court season with titles in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome heading into Paris.
Cerundolo, a clay-court specialist who had won only one ATP title before this run, becomes the latest reminder that no result is guaranteed at the majors. For tennis followers here in Costa Rica tuning into Roland-Garros, today delivered the kind of upset that defines a Grand Slam fortnight.
