Outrage at Roland Garros: Jim Courier accuses tournament of bending rules for Jannik Sinner!

Jannik Sinner was one game away from reaching the third round of the French Open when his physical struggles began to show.

The top seed held a 5-1 lead in the final set and seemed poised for a comfortable path into the next round.

But what followed was a surprising turn, as Juan Manuel Cerundolo closed the gap and had three break points at 0-40 with Sinner serving at 5-4.

Sinner then left the court for a medical assessment, which did not sit well with TNT Sports commentator Jim Courier.

Jim Courier calls out a rule discrepancy as Jannik Sinner struggles physically at Roland Garros

“The chair umpire has not activated the serve clock,” said Courier. “She is going to give him the benefit of the doubt that this is an injury. This is unquestionably not an injury.”

“This is unfair for [Juan Manuel] Cerundolo. The clock should be counting. He should be getting penalised for this. This is not an injury. He is reacting to different areas of his body, this is not like an ankle injury. This is clearly cramping.”

“It’s not right. It’s not fair. [Daniil] Medvedev in Rome in their semi-final when [Jannik] Sinner got a medical time out for seemingly a loss of conditioning. It’s clearly cramps.”

“[Alexander] Zverev had the same reaction when he was playing [Carlos] Alcaraz in the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Alcaraz, the same things. We love the top players, they are great for the sport, but you have to apply the rules fairly.”

Medical time-outs raise new questions about cramps during matches

Earlier this season, Sinner also received a medical time-out during his Italian Open semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev.

Medvedev wasn’t happy with the decision, believing Sinner was treated for cramping, which is not allowed under ATP rules. Jamie Murray, calling the match for Sky Sports, agreed with Medvedev’s interpretation of the situation.

“He is getting treated for cramp essentially, he’s getting his quads massaged,” said Murray. “So, it happens a lot, obviously, I don’t agree with it personally.

“He’s getting his other quad massaged now, so it’s a tough one to explain that you have got two injured quads and it’s not cramp while you’re sipping on your pickle juice. Players exploit that every week; it’s not a unique situation. Medvedev knows what is up.”

Sinner went on to win that match after play resumed following a rain delay. Whether the time-out played a role in his recovery is impossible to say for sure.

But what does seem clear is that treatment for cramps isn’t supposed to be part of medical timeouts. Enforcement of this rule has been inconsistent at best.

Courier was right when he pointed out that Sinner probably didn’t need to leave the court entirely against Cerundolo just to check vital signs.

The extra 10-15 minutes spent off-court in an air-conditioned room likely helped Sinner recover further than he would have otherwise.

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