Jannik Sinner retires from Shanghai Open limping
Sinner will lose 950 points from his early exit from Shanghai.
Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from Shanghai Masters in his second match, after a gruelling 2 hours 36 minutes against Tallon Griekspoor, the match ending 6-7(3), 7-5, 3-2 the moment the Italian chose to retire. He was helped off limping, suffering cramps in his right thigh.
Many tennis players have complained about the extreme conditions they are forced to play, with high levels of humidity (Djokovic, who defeated Yannick Hanfmann, vomited during the match). Sinner needed ice towels around his neck between the second and third set.
Griekspoor, the 29-year-old Dutch player currently ranked 31, will face Valentin Vacherot tomorrow in round of 16. "This is definitely not the way you want to win", he said. "Brutal conditions here in Shanghai all week already. I thought we were a little bit lucky to play in the evening without sun, but two hours and 36 minutes on the clock, middle of the third set... I'm sorry for him, I wish him a speedy recovery".
This defeat means Sinner will drop 950 points (he was champion in Shanghai last year) and the distance with Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP ranking will be much larger: 1,340 points. Sinner could be able to cut that distance in half if he managed to win Vienna Open (October 20-26), but it has become much more difficult for Sinner to recapture world no. 1 this year.
