Sinner gave up at the Shanghai Masters

Sinner became the first player to retire from two consecutive Masters 1000 events as defending champion. Previously, the Italian tennis player did the same thing when he played Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the Cincinnati Open.

In Shanghai, Sinner's journey to defend the throne stopped when the score was 6-7, 7-5, 3-2, in favor of Griekspoor. Not only Sinner, the Dutch opponent also had a leg problem during a ball save at the beginning of the match and needed medical attention before the second set. Hot weather conditions with high humidity are said to be part of the reason why both Sinner and Griekspoor suffered injuries.

In the latest match at Center Court on October 5, the opening set was a tug of war. Sinner and Griekspoor served steadily, causing no break points to be created. The difference only appeared in the tie-break when Sinner hit "preemptively", leading 4-0 and from there to a 7-3 victory.

The second set seemed more favorable for Sinner with three chances to win Griekspoor's first service game, then three consecutive break-points in the eighth game. However, the nightmare of missing three championship points at Roland Garros returned when he squandered all the opportunities. On the contrary was Griekspoor, who won the game with the 11th hinge ball to take the second set.

Before entering the deciding set, Sinner went to the locker room to treat the pain in his right thigh caused by a missed save. Because of a similar situation in game four, the Italian player's injury became more serious. He limped around, lost his next service game and then collapsed on his chair. Despite his best efforts, the number one seed had to give up when he could barely stand.

Thus, Sinner could not maintain his winning record in the 11th time competing with an opponent from the Netherlands. On the other side, Griekspoor broke a streak of six defeats against Sinner, and became the first Dutchman to enter the fourth round of the Shanghai Masters, where he will face world No. 204 Valentin Vacherot.