Baking on the clay: How players are feeling the heat in a French Open furnace
Jannik Sinner has blamed illness rather than high temperatures for his shocking exit while the locker room is divided over the weather in Paris
Jannik Sinner, the world No 1, was leading by two sets and serving for a place in the third round of the French Open when it became clear he was in significant danger on the baking clay in Paris on Thursday afternoon. He was undoneat the only grand slam he has yet to win, not by the ingenuity of his opponent or even the immense pressure that comes with being the prohibitive favourite, but rather by his own body.
The Italian – who had not lost a match since February – said he had been struggling with an illness. Despite waving away suggestions he had wilted in the high temperatures, the unprecedented heatwave in the first week here could not have helped his cause.