Patrick Mouratoglou says it is complete nonsense to even think that Jannik Sinner faked feeling unwell at the Shanghai Masters as Serena Williams' former coach believes the Italian's case is the prime example of what happens when you dehydrate in humid conditions.
On Sunday, Sinner exited a tournament before the final stage for the first time since mid-June. And it happened after the world No. 2 was forced to retire with Tallon Griekspoor up 6-7 (3) 7-5 3-2 in their Shanghai third-round clash.
Throughout the match, Sinner never looked his best, and his struggles became more apparent when he started to deal with a right thigh issue and cramps. Despite receiving medical assistance on the court, the defending champion decided to retire after being broken in the fifth game of the third set.
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As you probably know, the humid conditions and slow courts have been one of the main storylines of this year's Shanghai edition. Some quickly pointed that out when arguing what led to Sinner's cramps. But there were also those who started to throw out some wild conspiracy theories and claim that the 24-year-old faked feeling unwell.
Mouratoglou defends Sinner: if something is missing, your body can shut down
To explain Sinner's cramps, there is only one word: humidity. Fritz had the same problem, we saw Novak Djokovic throw up two times. It's not the first time Jannik has cramps. He had cramps against Carlos in Roland-Garros, but this was tension," Mouratoglou said in a video uploaded on his Instagram.
Until it happens to you, there is no reason to change anything. Once it happened, his team will probably organize differently the next time he's going to play in such conditions. Probably incredible the drinking also before the match, because during the match, at a certain point you cannot drink more. And this is where Waterdrop for example is important, because when you sweat that much, you're also losing everything that is in your body, that you need to function. If something is missing, your body can shut down, and that's what happened.
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Before coming to Shanghai, Sinner kicked off his Asian swing by winning the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing.
