Jannik Sinner was left with no other option but to retire from the Shanghai Masters round of 32 due to a leg injury he sustained in the third-round match against Tallon Griekspoor.
The 24-year-old started having problems during the fourth game of the third set and decided to stop playing when he was behind 7-6 (7-3), 5-7, 2-3. Sinner had won the first set in a tie-break, but missed a chance to take control when Griekspoor saved three break points early in the second set.
Later, it was the Dutch player who took the lead in the 11th game by breaking Sinner’s serve with a backhand winner.
As the match went on late into the night, Sinner was in clear pain during the fourth game of the third set, bending over and limping on the court.
In the next game, he hit several shots into the net, lost his serve, and decided to retire from the match after being helped back to his seat.
Speaking to the media after the match, Griekspoor said he didn’t want the match to end this way. He expressed his sympathy for Sinner and wished him a fast and full recovery.
“It was a very unfortunate ending to what I thought was a high-quality match,” Griekspoor said.
“Not the way you want to win. I wish him a speedy recovery.”
For over a year, world No. 2 Sinner hadn’t lost to anyone except his biggest rival, Carlos Alcaraz, who recently took the No. 1 spot from him. Now, the Italian star is out of the tournament, becoming the second top player to exit after fourth seed Taylor Fritz was knocked out earlier.
Tallon Griekspoor is set to face Valentin Vacherot next after 20th seed Tomas Machac had to quit the match with an injury. This will be the first time Griekspoor and Vacherot go head-to-head in court.
