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

• Italian won three straight events before Roland Garros

• ‘I wasn’t dying because of the heat,’ says the world No 1

Jannik Sinner described his shock second-round loss at the French Open and the physical difficulties that scuppered him as “tough to accept” considering his incredible form prior to the tournament. 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 Wimby.”