Jannik Sinner progressed into the second round of the Australian Open, but the Italian did not have to work too hard to book his place in the next stage
Jannik Sinner’s opponent Hugo Gaston was forced to retire(Image: TNT Sports)
Jannik Sinner’s opponent Hugo Gaston retired suddenly and burst into tears in their Australian Open clash. The Frenchman immediately hunched over and began to weep in his seat, after he decided to end their clash early.
Gaston actually began the match in promising fashion, earning three break points in the opening game against the World No. 2, but seemed to be struggling physically from then on.
During one of the change of ends, Gaston, the World No. 93, could be seen swallowing some tablets before heading back out onto the court. Sinner comfortably took the first set 6-2 and then took advantage of Gaston’s energy to win the second 6-1.
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Once the four-time Grand Slam winner had gone 2-0 up in sets, Gaston decided to throw the towel in. Sinner then showed his sportsmanship by going up to his opponent to comfort him, while Gaston was weeping.
It was a disappointing way for the match to end for both players. In his on-court interview, Sinner said he sensed his opponent was not feeling 100%.
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The Italian said: “I saw that he was not serving with a very high pace, especially in the second set. It’s not the way you want to win the match.
“He’s such a delicate player, he has incredible touch, moves very well so I knew starting from the beginning that I had to play very high-level tennis, trying to be as aggressive as possible.
“I am very happy to be back here, it is a very special place for me. Thanks for coming, the atmosphere is always amazing.”
TNT Sports commentator and former British No. 1 Tim Henman also said: “We did see the trainer and the doctor come on the court and they gave Gaston some pills that he swallowed and just at the end when he said to Sinner that he couldn’t continue, I thought he sort of made some gesture to his stomach.
“So I don’t know whether he was not feeling his best, we obviously referred to Cobolli, who wasn’t feeling well against Arthur Fery, so I don’t know if there’s a little bit of a bug going round.
“It was unexpected, I don’t necessarily think it altered the outcome of that match. Sinner was absolutely magnificent with his ball striking.
“Gaston had those three break points in the first game at 0-40 that might have given the first set a different complexion if he could have broken serve, but it was always going to be an uphill battle for Hugo Gaston.”
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