French Open 2026 | Jannik Sinner stunned by Juan Manuel Cerundolo in second-round Paris shocker

Men's world No.1 Jannik Sinner will have to wait for another year for a maiden maiden French Open crown as the ailing star was knocked out in the second round of the clay court Grand Slam by Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Sinner's only previous meeting with the 56th-ranked Argentinian was a straight-sets win in the round of 128 at Wimbledon three years ago.

But on Thursday at the Court Philippe-Chatrier, Cerundolo outplayed him 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

With this, the Italian's 30-match winning run came to an abrupt halt as he succumbed to sweltering conditions in a five-set.

Sinner, the red-hot favourite at Roland Garros, led by two sets and was 5-1 up in the third, before being hampered by physical issues as he took a medical timeout only to lose two straight sets before going ​down in the ​decider to suffer his earliest Grand Slam exit since losing at the same stage in Paris three years ago.

The 24-year-old has won the Australian Open twice and Wimbledon and the US Open once each.

After losing three match points in the 2025 final to Alcaraz, he still needs a French Open trophy to complete a career Grand Slam - something that Alcaraz did by winning in Australia in February.

Arriving in Paris on the back of winning all three of the clay-court Masters titles to become just the second player after Novak Djokovic to complete the set of nine 1000-level tournaments, Sinner was stands head and shoulders above his closest competitors.

But Cerundolo had other ideas as he staged a stunning fightback after losing the first two sets as he entered the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in his career.

The defeat adds another painful chapter on Parisian clay for Sinner, who last year let slip three championship points against Alcaraz in the final. He departs Paris with a 37-3 record in 2026.

(With ATP Media inputs)