Who will make French Open final in wide open top half of draw after Jannik Sinner's shock exit? - VOTE

TNT Sports expert Tim Henman had said world No. 1 Sinner was the biggest favourite at the French Open since Rafael Nadal in his prime.

Sinner had won his previous 30 matches in a row and swept all the clay events this season.

He soared into a two-set lead against Cerundolo and was serving for the match, but suddenly wilted in the hot conditions, and saw his advantage evaporate.

From 5-1 up in the third set, Sinner lost 18 of the 20 games as he capitulated and could barely move from side to side.

Sinner said afterwards: "I don't remember the last time I felt this weak" as he revealed physical issues contributed to the loss.

The defeat means Novak Djokovic is the only men's player left at the French Open to have won a Grand Slam title. 

But Djokovic is in the bottom half of the draw along with second seed Alexander Zverev and two-time runner-up Casper Ruud.

In the top half of the draw, there are just six seeds remaining and only one top-10 player - fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.

In the words of Learner Tien, who is one of the potential beneficiaries of Sinner’s exit, the draw has "opened up a bit".

More big names in the top half fell on Thursday too, as fifth seed Ben Shelton was beaten in straight sets and two-time Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas lost in four.

Among the players still standing in the top half are 10th seed Flavio Cobolli and Francisco Cerundolo, the older brother of Juan Manuel.

There's also 17-year-old Moise Kouame, who is bidding to become France's first men's champion since Yannick Noah in 1983, former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, and Frances Tiafoe.

Who will make the French Open final from the top half following Sinner’s surprise exit? Have your say below and see what some of the players who are in the mix think about their chances...

Felix Auger-Aliassime: ”If you're in my spot, you know that that's not going to change anything for me, I still need to win the next rounds.

”I wasn't supposed to play him before the semis, in any case, and then, if I reach the semis and I don't play against Sinner and I play against someone else, of course on paper that's better for me, and I don't have to feel sorry about that. 

”Obviously playing against anyone but Sinner is better. However, the road ahead is still very long for me.”

Frances Tiafoe: ”There’s a look, so why not me? Again you can’t affect anything unless you take care of what you have to take care of, and just don’t get ahead of yourself. Be in the moment, peace in the present, but I am locked in and going for it.”

Learner Tien: ”I think everyone obviously feels like the draw has opened up a bit. For me personally, I know I have a tough match ahead of me, so it's not like I'm too focused on that.”

Martin Landaluce: "You have to be mentally prepared and physically prepared. So I think there can be surprises like today. And I don’t know what to expect. I just want to play the next match, to enjoy these days here and I know it’s going to be a battle. For sure, there are many players that can do well in the tournament and I’ll try to be one of those."

Matteo Berrettini: "I have seen what happened to Jannik, which is really unfortunate. I've seen him before he was leaving, and I told him to get back as soon as possible. He told me good luck."

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