Jannik Sinner explains why he felt 'dizzy' and 'weak' after shock French Open second-round exit to Juan Manuel Cerundolo

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Jannik Sinner said "I don't remember the last time I felt this weak" after physical issues contributed to an epic capitulation resulting in his French Open second-round exit.

Highlights: Watch historic upset as drained Sinner implodes against Cerundolo

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The world No. 1 appeared set to breeze into the third-round at Roland-Garros as he soared into a two-set lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and was serving for the match.

But Sinner - who was on a 30-match winning streak in the intense Paris heat with temperatures exceeding 30 degrees Celsius - suddenly wilted in the conditions, and saw his advantage evaporate.

Winning just two of the final 20 games in the five-set encounter, Sinner suffered a shock exit, having been widely regarded as the favourite to win the title.

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Speaking in a packed press conference after the match, Sinner explained how his condition deteriorated through the match.

"Yeah, I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy," Sinner said. "Very low of energy. Tried to serve it out, but didn't have a lot of energy.

"Fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. Very important game the first one. Couldn't hold. Then it went a bit downwards.

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"But, yeah, woke up this morning, didn't feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that's it."

He added: "I was in a tough spot in the fourth and also in the fifth at some point. I didn't have energy, really. I was very, very flat, you know, the whole body.

"I don't remember last time I felt this weak, but yeah, look, it is what it is. I tried to stay there with all I had today, and this was the maximum I had. Of course, a pity because I was playing really well the first couple of sets, and also the third set was playing really well. Yeah, that's the sport."

Sinner has previously displayed signs of struggling in hot conditions. At the Australian Open in January, he suffered a big scare during his third-round match against Eliot Spizzirri.

Cramping in the intense heat and barely able to serve, Spizzirri took a break advantage in the third set before Sinner was afforded a lucky break, with the match stopped in order to close the roof on Rod Laver Arena.

Last year, heat and humidity got the better of Sinner at the Shanghai Masters as he was forced to retire from his match against Tallon Griekspoor.

But the Italian felt conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Thursday were playable in comparison to the venues in which he previously struggled.

"I think Shanghai was very tough," he said. "Humidity very high. Australia was very, very warm, I do remember.

Watch sad scenes as Sinner unable to run for anything in Roland-Garros nightmare

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"It's different when you play on hard court, because the heat comes also underneath. Here, I mean, it was warm, but it was okay. It was not like I was dying because of the heat.

"I think today was a completely different scenario, but again, this can happen. It's tough to accept, of course, because of the position where I've been in and everything considered, but yeah, now I have a lot of time to recover.

"I won't play any tournament on grass before, most likely. Now I need really some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again for Wimby [Wimbledon]."

Sinner said he will look back on his clay-court swing positively, despite the French Open disappointment, having won three ATP 1000 titles in succession on the surface.

"I always try to look at the positive side," Sinner said. "If you watch the whole clay swing, very well. Played really, really, really good, winning three tournaments in a row on clay.

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"Coming here, you know, also how I was playing tennis, I felt very well. You know, hitting the ball in a good way, moving well, and today was just not meant to be.

"I think many things together caused this problem today, but again, it can happen. I just need my time now to process what went wrong here and positive also that we can put in good practice weeks before Wimby."

The men's draw is wide open following Sinner's elimination, with world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz absent in Paris. Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev will be looking to benefit, the former looking for a record 25th major and the latter searching for his first.