30/05/2026

SPORTS SATURDAY | MAY 30, 2026

/thesuntelegram FOLLOW / Malaysian Paper

ON TELEGRAM m RAM

28

‘Sincaraz’ absence spreads hope

DEFE N DI N G French Open cham pion Carlos Alcaraz’s absence through injury and Jannik Sinner’s second-round exit on Thursday have left the men’s draw wide open, with players sensing a rare chance to claim a Grand Slam title. The “Sincaraz” duo, still in their early twenties, have won the last nine Grand Slam titles, with 39 year-old Novak Djokovic still look ing like the player who is most likely to disrupt their dominance. While the Serbian will be the favourite to capture his record 25th Grand Slam trophy in Paris, American Learner Tien said more challengers were likely to have renewed belief following Sinner’s 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 defeat by Juan Manuel Cerundolo. “I can’t speak for anyone else, honestly, but from what I feel all the young guys coming up want to

TRAMLINES Collignon shocks Shelton

said. “It’s a long two weeks. A lot of things can happen.” Sinner was plagued by illness and a loss of energy in his defeat on a searing day in Paris and Spain’s Martin Landaluce said managing the conditions could be crucial. “These conditions are really hot. It’s tough to play here,” Landaluce said. “You have to be mentally pre pared and physically prepared. So I think there can be surprises like today. And I don’t know what to expect. I just want to play the next match, to enjoy these days here and I know it’s going to be a battle. “For sure, there are many play ers that can do well in the tourna ment and I’ll try to be one of those.” – Reuters

sports. Not so great for him. But at the same time, everyone will remember what happened with Juan Manuel. “He’s a great player with many qualities and it’s going to shed great light on him. Sinner is fine. He’s got all the light that he needs and he’ll be grand.” American Frances Tiafoe said the rest of the field had more opportunities now that Sinner had gone but it would all boil down to how players reacted to the oppo nent in front of them on any given day. “Now that he’s out, I think eve ryone is going to have more but ultimately it doesn’t really matter. You’ve got to beat one guy and whoever is in front of you,” Tiafoe

prove themselves,” the 20-year-old Tien told reporters. “I think a lot of the guys coming up really have a lot of belief in themselves, that they belong at this level and that they can chal lenge the top guys for these events. “I think that’s huge. Just believ ing is a huge first step and a lot of these younger guys, myself included, are just very eager to go out and prove themselves.” Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime said Cerundolo’s win had put him firmly in the spotlight. “Everyone thought Sinner would win this year’s French Open,” Auger-Aliassime said. “It’s not going to be him. “I guess that’s the beauty of

B ELGIUM’ S Raphael Collignon delivered a stunning performance to defeat world No. 5 Ben Shelton 7-5, 6-4, 6-4 yesterday and advance to the third round of the French Open for the first time in his career. Playing in the main draw at Roland Garros for the first time, Collignon displayed remarkable compo sure and sharp returns to unsettle the American. The 24-year-old Belgian broke Shelton’s strong serve at key junctures in each set, securing the victory in just over two hours.“I knew I had to try to stay focused on my return, that his real strength was his serve and that I really had to concentrate on my own service game – that was the key,” Collignon told reporters. “I tried to wait for the opportunities and whenever they came, in the end, I stayed fairly calm because I broke serve at just the right moment every time,” he said. Collignon, who was visibly emotional at the end of the match, will face Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi in the third round. Gauff earns straight sets win DEFE N DI N G CHAMPIO N Coco Gauff eased past Egyptian qualifier Mayar Sherif 6-3, 6-2 yesterday to punch her ticket for the French Open third round. The American, who landed her 80th career main draw victory at a Grand Slam, never hit top form, with her opponent offering some dogged resistance in the first set and keeping her off balance. “It was a physical tough match. I was really tested today. It took a lot of strength today,” Gauff said. “The score line doesn’t show how physical it was but obviously Mayar is a tough player. I thought I played well and did what I could with how she was playing. I will be focusing on getting more my rhythm back because I did not have it today,” Gauff said. She will next face Anastasia Potapova after the Russian-turned Austrian ended British interest in singles at the French Open with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 over Katie Boulter. Tiafoe makes online plea for racket FRA N CE S TIAFOE won a French Open marathon against Hubert Hurkacz yesterday but lost his racket in the ensuing celebrations with fans, later making a plea on social media for its safe return and offering two tickets to his next match. American 19th seed Tiafoe came through a gruelling contest on Court 14 with a 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4 victory before running to the boisterous crowd to rejoice, only for a fan to cheekily snatch his racket. Tiafoe did not immediately realise that the racket had been taken, as he stepped away from the crowd and continued his celebrations by taking off his shirt and pointing to his head before flexing his muscles on the court. But reality dawned and he took to social media a lit tle while later to request that the racket be returned to him before he takes on Portugal’s Jaime Faria in the third round. “Unreal atmosphere on Court 14 today,” Tiafoe posted in an Instagram story. “But I must say to the fan who took my racket at the end when I was celebrating with y’all, can I please have it back? I’ll bless you with two tickets for my next match.” Kouame youngest man into third round since Nadal HOME hope Moise Kouame became the youngest man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam tour nament since Rafael Nadal 23 years ago, after an epic French Open victory on Thursday, saying it was a “dream”to one day win the tournament. The 17-year old wildcard survived a comeback from Paraguay’s Adolfo Daniel Vallejo to claim a remarkable 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 2-6, 7-6 (10-8) win after four hours and 56 min utes on a raucous, and boiling hot, Court Suzanne Lenglen. Kouame is the youngest man to reach the last 32 of a major since Nadal at Wimbledon in 2003. Nadal went on to win 22 Grand Slam titles, including 14 at Roland Garros, and Kouame is not putting any limits on what he is hoping to achieve. “Winning Roland Garros is, of course, a dream, but winning all four (Slams) is a dream actually, you know. Being world No. 1 is also a dream,” Kouame, currently ranked 318th, told reporters. “I think winning the tournament is a bit early. But, yeah, I’m really happy to be in the third round, as well, of course, and I’m going to try my best to win another match.”

Au Revoir Jannik Sinner ‘hits wall’ as

French Open bid collapses

J ANNIK SINNER said he ran out of energy and “hit the wall” as his 30-match win ning run came to an abrupt halt in the second round of the French Open on Thursday. World No. 1 Sinner, the red-hot favourite at Roland

this morning, didn’t feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. In the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall.” Sinner revealed he began to fade halfway through the third set as temperatures once again climbed above 30°C dur ing a record-breaking heatwave in France. But he refused to blame the conditions for his unexpected exit, his earliest at a Grand Slam since he lost at the same stage here in 2023. “It was warm, but not crazy warm,” said Sinner. “Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens. “I don’t want to take anything away from him (Cerundolo). He played a very solid match.” Sinner arrived in Paris on the back of win ning all three of the clay-court Masters titles, with his odds of completing a career Grand Slam enhanced further by the absence of injured rival Carlos Alcaraz. Instead, it was another bitterly disappoint ing ending at Roland Garros for last year’s runner-up who held three championship points 12 months ago before losing to Alcaraz. “It’s tough to accept because of the posi tion I’ve been in and everything considered, but yeah, now I have a lot of time to recover,” said Sinner. “I won’t play any tournament on grass before (Wimbledon). Now I need really some time off, recover completely, also mentally, and then be ready to go again. “As I said, in the beginning of the year, this (the French Open) is my main goal here. A very early exit it was not what I was looking for.” – AFP

before completely unravelling and sliding to a 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1 loss. “I had no energy today. That can happen. Nobody is a robot,” said the four-time Grand Slam champion, who complained of dehydration and dizziness, saying he felt as though he might vomit.

Garros this year, suffered a dramatic five-set defeat by Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo after a sudden collapse on another sweltering day in Paris. Sinner appeared to be cruising to victory, holding a two-set lead and a commanding 5-1 advan tage in the t h i r d ,

The Italian left Court Philippe Chatrier to receive

medical treatment while serving for the match. He returned minutes later but Cerundolo sensed his opportu nity against an ailing opponent.

“I struggled, starting to feel very dizzy,” added the 24-year-old Sinner. “I was very, very flat, you know, the whole body. I d o n ’ t

remember last time I felt this

weak. “I woke up

Jannik Sinner reacts during a break at the French Open on Thursday. – REUTERSPIC

Top seed Sabalenka survives first set wobble TOP S EED Aryna Sabalenka over came a first-set scare to beat France’s Elsa Jacquemot 7-5, 6-2 yesterday and move into the French Open third round. The Belarusian, last year’s los “That was a very tough oppo nent. Tricky match. I’m happy that I closed it in straight sets,” Sabalenka said. “She played really incredible

She grabbed a break at the start of the second set and won five games on the trot, giving Jacquemot, who was quickly run ning out of steam, no chance of a comeback. Sabalenka will next face Australia’s Daria Kasatkina. “It’s always challenging play ing her,”the top seed said.“She’s a fighter. She’s putting all of the balls back. You have to really work for each point, especially on the clay court.” – Reuters

sets to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, Sabalenka had to dig deep in the first set against the world No. 67. Sabalenka had set point at 5-4 on Jacquemot’s serve but the French player, who had the crowd on their feet at times, managed to match Sabalenka’s power with superb precision and level. The top seed kept her com posure and won the first set on her third set point, and she never looked back.

tennis and forced me to step in and play on another level. I am happy I could handle it and win.” The world No. 1 earned an early break with a powerful fore hand to go 3-1 up but Jacquemot broke straight back. On a day when the men’s world No. 1 Jannik Sinner crashed out in five

ing finalist, was made to work hard for about an hour, with the local hero delighting home fans with several spectacular winners. A four-time Grand Slam champion, Sabalenka is still look ing to land her first French Open title.