Jannik Sinner had to crawl through his third-round match at the Australian Open today, battling through full-body cramps to secure his spot in the Round of 16.
Forced to play second on the day session, the former world number one was subjected to blistering heat, the likes of which his body simply could not keep up with.
As such, it reacted violently, as the Italian was moved gingerly for large parts of the match with the scores tied at one set all.
Credit to Eliot Spizzirri, who took full advantage of his hampered opponent, and had it not been for the enforced heat break, he likely would have dethroned the two-time defending champion.
Jannik Sinner has since admitted that he got really ‘lucky’, before confirming what he did during that pivotal break.
Jannik Sinner admits he got ‘lucky’ at the Australian Open
Speaking to the Australian Open press, he first noted: “Yeah, I mean, it was hot today. Started to cramp a little bit in the third set, which then after by time it went slowly away. I know my body slightly better now with a bit of experience also, you know, trying to handle certain situations a bit better. Yeah, got lucky today.”
Then asked exactly what he did to recover so quickly, Sinner admitted: “Yeah, nothing. I was alone. There was no treatment. You cannot have treatment in that time. So I was stretching. I laid down for five minutes, trying to loosen up the muscles.
Were the Australian Open wrong to allow Jannik Sinner time off court when he was cramping?
“It worked really well. Trying to get the body temperature a bit more down. That’s it.
“There are not many things you can do. Time passed quite fast, but it helped me, for sure.”
Another reporter then recalled Sinner’s match against Holger Rune around this time last year at the same event, where cramp once again reared its ugly head.
He was asked whether he feared his luck might one day run out, to which he answered: “This I don’t know. I’m someone who tries to put tennis in the highest priority. I know that I’m doing that since years now. In the back of my mind I know how much I work. I feel well-prepared even if some problems could happen potentially on the court.
“Of course, there are going to be days where you don’t find a way. It’s not that everything is going your way. But with a positive mindset, for sure more positive things can happen. If you are in a court thinking in a negative way, most likely more negative things can come towards you.
“I try to stay calm even in a moment like this. If he keeps playing the way he was playing, maybe I was dropping a little bit, maybe my tournament was over today. I don’t know.”
Tim Henman had praised a ‘scary’ aspect of Sinner’s game before this match, but seldom do we see such a dominant player look so down-and-out on court.
Should Jannik Sinner have been allowed time off court?
Some will argue that Sinner’s time off court was a get-out-of-jail-free card, and thoroughly unfair.
However, the opposition will instead point to the brand-new heat rule that has been brought in this year, which was invoked at the Australian Open today.
The event’s heat stress scale measures four factors: the strength of the sun, air temperature in the shade, relative humidity and wind speed.
Who has been the best player at the Australian Open so far?
It was almost poetic that, as Sinner could barely walk, with the scores at one set all and Spizzirri up a break in the third, the heat scale tipped over to five, which allowed players time off court.
Sinner benefited greatly from this, and it effectively saved him from almost certain defeat.
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