Jannik Sinner faced an unexpected defeat in a second-round match at the 2023 Roland Garros against Daniel Altmaier.
Although Sinner was considered to be one of the favorites, and many eyes were on him in the French capital, his journey in the tournament came to an abrupt end, stirring a whirlwind of reactions across the tennis world, especially since he missed two match points in the match.
Despite Sinner's best efforts, Altmaier proved to be the better player. After a grueling five hours and 28 minutes, he delivered one of the biggest surprises of this year's Roland Garros, beating Sinner 6-7(0), 7-6(7), 1-6, 7-6(4), 7-5.
Looking back on the match, Sinner reflected on the reasons behind his loss as he initially couldn't find any words and also didn't really know what happened and what caused his loss against the German.
"Yeah, what happened, that's a good question. I had my opportunities. I couldn't find a right way how to win the points. I was a little bit unfortunate at some points. Also match point I smashed, and he played it on the tape of the net."
Although acknowledging the sting of defeat, Sinner remained resilient, vowing to learn from this experience. He'll have a lot of chances to do that as his career is still very young, and he'll learn how to deal with expectations and pressure.
"But, you know, this is the sport. I will for sure come back stronger. I knew it was a tough last two tournaments, no? I put myself maybe a little bit too much expectations or pressure, call it however you want, and, you know, it's part of the game."
Despite the unexpected outcome, Sinner remained optimistic about the overall season. His win-loss record in 2023 is very positive and with the upcoming grass-court season, it can improve even further.
"I feel like the season is going good. I played a lot of matches. But for sure the last two tournaments were not that what I was expecting, no? It is a tough one to swallow, but, you know, I keep going."
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