During the third set of his match against Tallon Griekspoor at the Shanghai Rolex Masters, Jannik Sinner had to retire due to cramps and will not be able to defend the title he won last year. The former world No.1 who was hoping to lift his second trophy in a row after prevailing at the Beijing ATP 500 earlier last week tried to ask the ATP physiotherapist for help, but he could no longer walk and was literally exhausted due to the extreme humidity combined with the scorching heat.
The Italian ace has been overtaken by Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the ATP rankings and his reign has ended after more than a year, but he can still be proud of his performances this season as he has won two Grand Slam trophies (at the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships respectively).
Sinner retired in Shanghai
The 24-year-old from Sesto Pusteria had to miss several tournaments between February and May due to the three-month ban he was given by WADA, but he showed his incredible mental strength once again and immediately recovered his best level. Some thought that he might have a crisis after the tremendous loss against Alcaraz in the final Roland Garros where he had three match points in a row in the fourth set but the reaction already manifested itself at Wimbledon, becoming the first Italian player ever to win the most prestigious tournament in the world.
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In these hours, the top analyst Guido Monaco commented on Sinner's retirement in the penultimate Masters 1000 of the season: "The most likely hypothesis is that - after winning the Beijing tournament - he had too little time to recover his energy and the extreme humidity led him to have cramps. Maybe in the future he could act with a little more malice and ask for a medical timeout as soon as he starts to feel discomfort citing a contracture as an issue. As we know, cramps are not considered an injury and cannot be treated by physio."
