Not long after Jannik Sinner’s shocking second-round loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the 2026 French Open, a post shared by the clay major irked several tennis fans. While the post acknowledged the Argentine’s victory, it also brought up the physical struggles that the reigning World No. 1 Italian couldn’t battle past on the day, and according to the irked fans, this ‘diminished’ Cerundolo’s memorable win.
Sinner won the first two sets comfortably and had almost sealed the deal in the third when the extremely hot conditions in Paris began taking a toll on him. Struggling with dehydration, cramps and unable to cover the court properly, last year’s Roland Garros runner-up was ultimately taken out by Cerundolo in five sets.
Thanks for the submission!
In the aftermath of the Argentine’s 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 victory, the French Open’s X (formerly Twitter) page shared the post that ended up triggering numerous fans. The post read:
“Juan Manuel Cerundolo is through to the next round after a five-set win over a physically diminished Jannik Sinner!”
A lot of fans felt that the French Open’s post undermined the good work Juan Manuel Cerundolo did to secure his famous win over Jannik Sinner.
“Not the official tournament qualifying his win lmao So nasty and rude,” one fan wrote.
““Physically diminished” yeah ok bro, i wasn’t seeing people say this when Carlos (Alcaraz) played with a strained thigh at Turin last year? or with his taped wrist? only thing being diminished here is Cerundolo’s win,” commented another.
“Physically diminished? Why not just say his through to the next round. All Sinner had to was win one game at 5-1 up in the third. Give the man some credit for winning from that position. Look at how some players choked even when the opponents were injured,” another fan chimed in.
“I don’t want to hear that Sinner was physically struggling. JM was absolutely relentless! constantly problem-solving, finding ways to shut the door with every point. The heavy loops, drop shots, the brutal forehands… not everyone finishes that match off. He did!,” one stated.
“He was diminished by the natural environment and his opponent! In simple words … he was beaten! Please don’t patronize the tennis mafia!,” added another.
“Why did you have to write physically diminished and try to take the credit from Juan Manuel Cerundolo?,” asked one.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Juan Manuel Cerundolo” – Jannik Sinner after French Open 2026 exit
Jannik Sinner himself admitted that he struggled physically to close out the match in the third set and then didn’t have it in him to compete with Juan Manuel Cerundolo in their second-round meeting at the 2026 French Open. However, at the same time, the Italian lauded the Argentine’s ‘solid’ display, saying during a post-match press conference:
“I didn’t feel very well on court, but it can happen. I was in a good spot, also third set. I couldn’t serve it out. Then struggled quite a bit. Congrats to him. I don’t want to take anything away from him. He played a very solid match, especially also in the end.”
Cerundolo, having registered the biggest victory of his career so far, is now set to lock horns with Martin Landaluce of Spain, who also played a five-set match in the second round, where he outfought Vit Kopriva of Czechia.
Meanwhile, Sinner is likely to take a break now and to assess what went wrong for him at Roland Garros this year. After the break, the Italian should begin his preparations for the grass swing.
Edited by Sudipto Pati