Jannik Sinner is eliminated. © APA/afp / ANDREAS SOLARO

Cerundolo spoils the Sinner party in Rome

Jannik Sinner's adventure at the Masters 1000 tournament in Rome is over. The man from Sexten suffered a bitter defeat against Francisco Cerundolo in the round of XNUMX on Tuesday, which meant an early exit. The fact that the man from Sexten was not in full possession of his strength at the home tournament of all places is even more annoying.

16 May 2023

From: leo

Sinner and Cerundolo (ATP 31) knew each other inside out from three duels last year. Sinner had the upper hand twice; in the quarter-finals in Miami, the then unknown Argentine benefited from the Sextner's retirement due to injury. Although Cerundolo is a proven clay court specialist, the crowd favorite was also the favorite in the fourth showdown. On this day, however, he didn't live up to it: On the one hand, because he couldn't perform at his best due to physical problems. On the other hand, because the Argentinian turned up the heat after a mixed start and played outstandingly - 6:7, 6:2, 6:2 was the score at the end.

The Center Court in Rome was really full this afternoon – in contrast to the first week. However, there was no mood at the beginning, as both players acted too incorrectly. A quick break from Sinner was quickly caught up by his 24-year-old opponent. While both actors got on track a little better in the middle of the sentence, they added a lot of inaccuracies towards the end of the round. Sinner used this to break to 6:5, but the 21-year-old made numerous mistakes in the following game - tiebreak. In this, the South Tyrolean made use of his greater experience at this level as well as his greater class and thus decided an unpleasant but all the more important set in his favor.

Sinner seems tired

It was still obvious that Sinner was not in the best condition. The South Tyrolean complained of dizziness in the direction of his box and he didn't move with his usual ease. This couldn't be overlooked at the start of the second set when he conceded two breaks and fell behind 0-3. After the break, Cerundolo gave him a break back before Sinner resorted to unusual means: in a service game he played serve & volley three times - and with success. However, the rebellion did not last long. Cerundolo promptly took the serve away from Darren Cahill's protégé and won the set 6:2.

Showed great tennis: Francisco Cerundolo © APA/afp / ANDREAS SOLARO

Sinner then left the pitch, went to the dressing room area and came back with a new T-shirt. However, when the match continued, the same picture emerged: Cerundolo dominated, the energyless Sinner defended. The result was a quick 2-0 for the Argentine. At this point no one believed in the South Tyrolean anymore. However, he didn't think about giving up, stuck with it and put up more resistance again. But it wasn't enough for a spectacular turnaround: Cerundolo didn't let anything happen, grabbed another break and used his third match point after 2.25 hours.