Jannik Sinner may be into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open, but those who watched his match against Eliot Spizzirri will know that he can count himself fortunate to be there.
After all, playing in the blistering Melbourne heat, his body began to shut down.
The 24-year-old could barely walk as he hobbled from point to point, suffering from crippling full-body cramps that left him helpless on the court.
Had nothing changed, he would admit himself that he was losing that clash. Fortunately for him, the heat rule came to his rescue, and he turned the match around.
He has now made a crucial change to his training following this huge scare.
Jannik Sinner makes change to his training after suffering in Australian Open heat
As pointed out by journalist Carlo Galati, Jannik Sinner has been methodical in how he has altered his preparation for his next match.
After all, he will clearly want to do everything in his power to prevent those cramps from re-emerging, whilst also protecting his body after putting it through such dangerous exertion.
Were the Australian Open wrong to allow Jannik Sinner time off court when he was cramping?
Taking to X, the reporter revealed that Sinner is now training inside, at the National Centre of Melbourne Park, just across the road from the Australian Open’s official grounds.
It was noted that there were no obvious changes to the training, other than it was held indoors to avoid the continued heat.
He wrote that there was a ‘greater focus on volleying, featuring repeated volleys and smashes’, with a relaxed atmosphere despite the near-miss against Spizzirri.
Martina Navratilova accused the Australian Open of making a mistake for Sinner’s match, calling for common sense to be employed going forward.
Jannik Sinner gets lucky at a Grand Slam tournament again
This is not the first time Sinner has gotten lucky at a Grand Slam tournament, with some jokingly wondering whether the former world number one has made some kind of deal with the devil.
After all, against Spizzirri, he seemed dead on his feet. He could barely walk to his coaching box, let alone compete in points, whilst his opponent remained as spritely as ever.
Were it not for the perfectly-timed heat break, enforced as they closed the roof, Sinner was facing certain elimination from the Australian Open.
It will be interesting to see whether he now capitalises on this fortune in the same way he did at Wimbledon, having gained passage through to the quarter-finals despite being two sets to love down against Grigor Dimitrov.
How far do you think Novak Djokovic will go at the Australian Open?
He again was destined for defeat, before a freak injury forced the Bulgarian to retire mid-way through their match.
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