Jannik Sinner crashes out of French Open against Juan Manuel Cerundolo as top seed wilts in enormous shock

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World No. 1 and heavy favourite to win the French Open, Jannik Sinner, is out of the tournament in a massive surprise after collapsing in his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

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For much of the match, it was a typically dominant performance from Sinner, who was amid a run of 30 consecutive match victories, a sequence which spans five ATP 1000 titles before his Roland-Garros tilt.

But, first up on Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sinner wilted under the hot and dry conditions, with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius. Having been on the brink of victory, Sinner was the victim of an almighty turnaround, with Cerundolo ultimately prevailing 3-6 2-6 7-5 6-1 6-1.

Sinner had been imperious as he worked his way into a position to serve for the match. But, suddenly, the top-seed was barely able to move, and conceded four games without winning a single point in a dramatic turn of events.

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Cerundolo twice broke Sinner to love - the Italian having yet to drop serve in the tournament beforehand - as the Italian moved gingerly around the court.

It was at the point that Cerundolo had three break points to level the third set when Sinner was afforded a medical time-out after a discussion with chair umpire Aurelie Torte and was heard telling his physio that he was struggling with dizziness and nausea.

"It depends what you have," Torte said to Sinner before the short break. "Either you get the time violation and after it’s a code violation. Otherwise, we need to see with the physio. So it’s up to you."

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He went inside for a few minutes for a medical evaluation, with questions over whether he would return, but he did - albeit clearly still not fully fit.

Cerundolo immediately sealed the break and cast questions over Sinner's ability to complete the match.

That Sinner would be serving to stay in the set for a tie-break would have been unfathomable 30 minutes prior and he was broken again to force a fourth set - undoubtedly the worst-case scenario for the top seed as temperatures continued to rise.

"How on earth have we got here?" TNT Sports commentator Nick Mullins said. "From Sinner leading 5-1 and cake-walking into the third round, Cerundolo now has the opportunity to turn it on its head."

While wholly more competitive at the start of the fourth, Sinner's weaknesses were still evident. Bending over in physical discomfort between points, it became apparent he wanted everything on his forehand side and was attempting crunching winners at every opportunity to keep the points short.

Cerundolo levelled the match at two sets apiece when he continued to apply the pressure on Sinner, who was ailing more and more by the minute, dragging him side to side in the baseline exchanges.

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The Argentine staved off three break points before taking an advantage of his own and then came from 0-40 down to prevent Sinner from establishing parity. He further turned the screw with another break to move 5-1 ahead.

And when Cerundolo - who had never previously beaten a top-10 player - instantly broke Sinner again in the decider, the odds which had been so heavily stacked in Sinner's favour disintegrated.

Cerundolo soared into a 3-0 lead, Sinner barely able to get into position to make his shots.

While some tension crept in, allowing Sinner a chance to break - Cerundolo kept his nerve and returned to punishing the physical shortcomings of Sinner to open a 5-1 lead with a valuable hold.

Another dropped service game spelled the end of Sinner's run in Paris - an outcome which would have been scarcely believable before Thursday but became increasingly inevitable as the near three-and-a-half hour encounter progressed.

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Cerundolo barely celebrated when he stroked home on the approach for the biggest win of his career.

Sinner's elimination blows the men's draw wide open, with Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev the logical contenders to seize an advantage, in light of Carlos Alcaraz's absence.

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