Jannik Sinner is out of Roland Garros after losing an epic match with Daniel Altmaier 6-7(0) 7-6(7) 1-6 7-6(4) 7-5.
The contest lasted five hours and 25 minutes as Altmaier saved two match points to claim victory in a marathon match.
It will be disappointment for Sinner, who exits Roland Garros at the second round and couldn’t capitalise on Daniil Medvedev’s opening round exit.
Altmaier now plays 28th seed Grigor Dimitrov on Saturday for a spot in the second week.
The opening set saw both players be extremely effective on serve, working through the slow conditions as Sinner looked to use the angles to force errors from Altmaier.
However it was the German who sealed the first break in the seventh game with some efficient returning.
The break advantage didn’t last long as Sinner came back strongly as he broke back in the next game with the opening set going to a tiebreak.
It was the first of three tiebreaks in the match and Sinner dominated taking the tiebreak 7-0 with some impressive consistency.
The second set was also decided by a tiebreak after Sinner failed to convert any of his three break points in the fifth game as Altmaier remained clutch on serve.
An impressive second set from Altmaier was produced as he used the backhand smartly and made Sinner pay for his missed opportunities, converting his fifth set point to claim the tiebreak 9-7.
Sinner came back strongly with an impressive third set, breaking on two occasions to seal a two sets to one lead.
A gripping and long fourth set started with Altmaier breaking for a 2-0 lead before Sinner struck back in the fifth game with some consistent returning.
After that it was a scrap and battle which Sinner should have finished in four sets after breaking in the ninth game for a 5-4 lead.
Serving for the match, Sinner couldn’t convert two match points and faltered under pressure as the plucky German forced another tiebreak.
Altmaier once again made the Italian pay for missed opportunities as he closed out the tiebreak 7-4 to force a fifth set.
After an exhausting 90 minute set, Sinner looked physically spent as he rather cheaply gave the break to Altmaier for a 4-3 lead.
The match wasn’t over by a long way though as Altmaier couldn’t hold his nerve under pressure as he was broken in the tenth game.
Sinner rallied the crowd but couldn’t keep the momentum as he faltered once again under pressure as Altmaier would serve for the match for a second time.
An exhausting last game saw Altmaier have four match points saved in ridiculous fashion before the German showed his confidence in big moments by saving three break points.
Eventually, Altmaier converted his fifth match point and roared in delight as he secured one of the biggest wins of his career.
Tears flowed down the German’s face as he caused a big upset and will now face Grigor Dimitrov for a place in the last 16.
