Sinner blames illness rather than extreme heat after crashing out of French Open

Jannik Sinner attempts to cool himself with water during a break against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo as temperatures hit 33C. Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP

Jannik Sinner described his ­second-round loss at the French Open and the physical difficulties that ­scuppered him as “tough to accept” considering his form. On Thursday, the world No 1’s body betrayed him as he suffered a monumental 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 defeat by Juan Manuel Cerúndolo of Argentina.

“It’s tough to accept because of the position where I’ve been in and everything considered, but now I have a lot of time to recover,” he said. “I won’t play any tournament on grass before, most likely. Now I really need some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again for Wimbledon.”