This Week in Tennis: Upsets Define Week One at…

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Sinner Headlines Long List of Roland-Garros Shockers

Jannik Sinner appeared to be well on his way to making history. Unfortunately for the world No. 1, the Paris heat had other ideas as the Italian was stunned by Juan Manuel Cerundolo 2-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

Sinner struggled with dizziness and cramps just as he was on the brink of victory up 5-1 in the third set. He was unable to take advantage of two chances to serve out the match and took an off-court medical timeout while still up 5-4. Sinner was unable to regain his early form, as Cerundolo would win 18 of the final 20 games to seal the massive upset.

The loss snapped Sinner’s 30-match win streak and ended his pursuit of the Career Grand Slam for another year.

“I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy,” said Sinner. “Very low in 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. I couldn't hold. Then it went a bit downwards.

“I didn't feel very well on court, but it can happen. I was in a good spot, also [in the] third set. I couldn't serve it out. Then I struggled quite a bit. But also congrats to [Cerundolo]. I don't want to take anything away from him. He played a very solid match, especially also in the end, and that's the sport.”

24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic dropped a similar five-set shocker to 19-year-old Joao Fonseca on Friday. Like Sinner, Djokovic appeared to be well on his way to advancing as he quickly took a two-set lead. The 39-year-old admitted he ran out of gas as the match wore on, as the 28th-seeded Fonseca would come all the way back for the 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 marathon win that took just under five hours to complete.

“I just ran out of gas, to be honest,” the 101-time tour-level champion said. “I didn't feel good at all on the court in the [third or fourth] sets. I think end of the fourth was my chance” Djokovic said. “Obviously, tough one for me to lose being two sets to love up, but huge credit to Joao for really deserving to win the match.”

The men’s draw is guaranteed to see a first-time Grand Slam winner. Second seed Alexander Zverev is the favourite to win his first major, while Canadian Félix Auger-Aliassime is the next highest seed remaining.

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Women’s Draw in Disarray

The women’s side also had its fair share of upsets as Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, and Jessica Pegula were all sent home early, leaving Aryna Sabalenka as the only Top Five player remaining in the draw.

The fifth-seeded Pegula was the first to fall as she was eliminated in the first round by the 83rd-ranked Kimberly Birrell. No. 2 Rybakina would bow out in her second-round match against Yuliia Starodubtseva, while defending champion Coco Gauff would drop her third-round match to Anastasia Potapova.

Four-time Roland-Garros champion Swiatek cruised into the fourth round and appeared to be well on her way to another strong run in Paris after three straight sets wins. However, the third seed ran into the red-hot Marta Kostyuk and fell 7-5, 6-1 to the Ukrainian, who extended her unbeaten streak on clay to 16 matches.

The win set up a quarter-final matchup against Elina Svitolina, ensuring there will be a Ukrainian in the Roland-Garros semis for the first time in the professional era.

“There’s going to be Ukraine in the semifinals, so it’s already amazing,” said Svitolina. “I think it couldn’t be a better, amazing achievement for Ukrainian tennis. I think it’s really inspiring for the next generation to really believe that it is possible one day to play on this court and win.”

There will be a first-time Roland-Garros winner on the women’s side, and Sabalenka is now the heavy favourite to raise the fifth major trophy in her career.

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Feature Photo : Martin Sidorjak