John McEnroe has claimed that Novak Djokovic is perfectly placed to seize the opportunity after Jannik Sinner's stunning early exit from the French Open. Sinner entered the tournament as the overwhelming favorite following his dominant clay-court season and the withdrawal of defending champion Carlos Alcaraz. However, the Italian's quest for a career Grand Slam came to a dramatic halt on Thursday when he lost a five-set thriller to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round.
Sinner stormed into a two-set lead and was 5-1 up in the third set before illness and the intense heat at Roland Garros took their toll. Cerundolo fought back to win the third set 7-5, then cruised through the next two sets 6-1, 6-1 to secure the biggest victory of his career. The Argentine now faces Martin Landaluce or Vit Kopriva in the third round.
With Sinner out, the men's draw has opened up significantly, and seven-time Grand Slam champion McEnroe believes Djokovic is ready to pounce. The Serbian, aiming for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, defeated France's Valentin Royer in four sets to reach the third round, where he will face 19-year-old Joao Fonseca.
McEnroe praised Djokovic's form, telling TNT Sports: 'I think his level is pretty high. Explain to me how this guy does it when he doesn't play at all between majors? He comes out and it's as if he didn't miss a beat. I know he doesn't care much about the other tournaments anymore, but it feels like you have to play some of them, but for him he doesn't have to… he's defying time.'
Regarding Djokovic's upcoming match with Fonseca, McEnroe added: 'I'm picking Djokovic to win, but I think that's one of the biggest moments of Fonseca's career so far and will open him up. He has so much expectation and it's such a great result for him.'
Meanwhile, Sinner defended his busy schedule, which included tournaments in Madrid and Rome. He said: 'If I don't play Madrid or if I don't play Rome, maybe I come here and I still have a day like this where you feel sick. Looking back, it's always very tough. I won three tournaments on clay. Incredible results. It's an amazing streak I've had. Of course, in the beginning of the year, this is my main goal here. A very early exit was not what I was looking for, but you also don't know if things would have changed if I would maybe skip Madrid and play only Rome or maybe skipping Rome and come here. You never know.'
Describing his physical condition during the match, Sinner explained: 'I struggled and started to feel very dizzy, very low on energy. I tried to serve it out but didn't have a lot of energy. In the fourth set, I let it go a little bit trying to have a bit more energy in the fifth. The first one was a very important game and I couldn't hold. Then it went a bit downwards. I woke up this morning, didn't feel very well and tried to keep the points very short. Also in the beginning I was hitting very clean, very good, and then I just kind of hit the wall, and that's it.'
Sinner added: 'It was a tough spot to be in. But, again, this is the sport. It was warm but not crazy warm. I feel like it was quite OK to play. Really it was nothing against the heat, nothing against the weather. It was just me today, but it happens.'
Odds for the men's French Open title after Sinner's exit have shifted, with Alexander Zverev now the favorite at 7/4, followed by Djokovic at 7/2, Casper Ruud at 6/1, and Rafael Jodar at 13/2.
