Jannik Sinner destroyed: ball boy’s gesture moves fans

Jannik Sinner certainly experienced Thursday one of the ugliest days of his tennis career: the Azzurro, the number one favorite at Roland Garros, was eliminated in the second round by Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo after a sudden physical drop in the third set, while he was dominating the match. An incident went viral on social media that moved fans and underscored the South Tyrolean’s difficulties during the match.

During a changeover in the fifth set, with the match now lost, Sinner sat dejectedly on the bench, lost in thought. The Blue took off his cap and poured his canteen of cold water over his head, looking for some refreshment. Two ball-pickers approached him: one shaded him with an umbrella, as per his task, the second approached and brought him the ice bag and cold towel to put around his neck.

The Italian champion, embittered by what he was experiencing, did not notice the ball-picker and at one point put his head in his hands, upset. The young boy, without Jannik asking him anything, acted on his own initiative, putting the cold towel around his neck. The scene moved many fans of the outfielder.

In the press conference Sinner tried to shed light on what happened on the court, without looking for alibis: “In the middle of the third set I couldn’t find any energy, I didn’t feel very good on the court. It was hot but not terribly hot. This is sports, and it can happen. It is hard to accept, considering my position. But now there is time to recover.”

The South Tyrolean then stressed that recovery will have to be mainly mental, announcing that he will undergo medical tests in the coming days. The stated goal remains Wimbledon: “Hopefully we will be ready, we have to recover. I couldn’t pull myself out, I had no energy today. No one is a robot or made to never make mistakes.”