Eight-time grand slam champion Andre Agassi said there is “no excuse” for Jannik Sinner, the overwhelming favourite at this year’s French Open, to have struggled so much in the heat in his shock second-round exit.
The Italian had enjoyed an imperious run on clay, winning titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome in the build-up to Roland-Garros and had been near-universally expected to seal the title in Paris.
But he struggled with cramp when 6-3 6-2 5-1 up against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and said he felt dizzy and nauseous, with his body breaking down as he lost 15 points in a row and the temperature climbed to 32 degrees amid a heatwave.
His 30-match winning streak came to a sudden end as Cerundolo pulled clear, winning 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1, while Sinner said afterwards he was “very low on energy”.
Speaking on TNT Sports coverage, Agassi said there was “no excuse” for him to “hit a wall” so soon into the match.
“Sinner going out was huge, and I don’t know if you called him out on that enough,” the American told his fellow pundits. “I had a body clock of about four hours when I played, and if you gave me hot conditions, it dropped to like, three-45, three-50, it didn’t change a lot.
“But to go from him playing five and a half hours last year in the finals and then having the heat tap him in an hour 45… there’s a difference between being fit and being prepared.
“I have to point at a flaw in that kind of preparation, because there’s something you can do about that. It’s not that that dude doesn’t work hard, that he’s not fit. He was one game away [from reaching the third round] and the whole draw opened up. We all thought we’d see him here, maybe not even losing a set.”
Sinner spurned three championship points in the final against Carlos Alcaraz last year, ultimately losing a five-set thriller, and had been expected to avenge that defeat – particularly in the Spaniard’s absence.
But when he has struggled this season it has tended to be in combination with hot conditions: he was in physical difficulty against Eliot Spizzirri at the Australian Open in January, before the roof was closed due to soaring temperatures and he regrouped to win the match.
Agassi continued: “I’m sure he has a staff of doctors and people but repeating the same thing twice and expecting different results… he needs to figure out what to change. He may need to bring somebody in. It’s got to be some form of hydration issue.
“Before I went out there in Australia and played three out of five in hot conditions, I’m doing 10, 12 litres of water, you have to force it. It’s better to have it in you and not need it, than need it and not have it. I question his intake and if he’s doing it properly.
“He can play for five and a half hours, he’s proven it, he’s the best player on the planet right now. But I also know there’s no excuse for him to run into a wall at an hour 45.”
Agassi, who won the French Open in 1999, echoed other comments that the Italian’s surprise exit contributed to tension in the rest of the men’s draw, with the players aware that the absence of the two top players has provided their best opportunity to win a major.
He said: “The nerves now are classic. They’re starting to bring in an element that you love watching, tennis does have nerves and I think nerves are taking centre stage now and we’re maybe going to see some tennis along with it.”
