2026-01-24 05:11:00
Jannik Sinner has survived to advance at the Australian Open after he was seemingly spared what was shaping to be a shock retirement on Saturday. Play was suspended around Melbourne Park due to oppressive heat, which gave Sinner a timely reprieve when he appeared to be on the brink of calling it quits.
The temperature hit 35 degrees on Saturday afternoon, forcing officials to suspend play on all courts and close the roof on the stadium courts. The hand of officials was forced when the ‘heat scale’ hit 5, which dictates that play can’t continue unless a match is being played on a court with a closed roof.
Jannik Sinner was suffering with cramps before play was suspended at the Australian Open. Image: Getty
The suspension of play effectively saved Sinner from what was looming to be a forced retirement. The World No.2 was struggling with cramps and could barely move properly during the third set against World No.85 Eliot Spizzirri. There were genuine concerns that Sinner would be forced to call it quits, but the suspension of play allowed him to get off court, cool down and receive some treatment.
“Jannik Sinner has never been more relieved to come off the court,” Brenton Speed said on Channel 9. “What an incredible story this is.”
Play on Rod Lavera Arena was back underway a few minutes later, with Sinner moving a lot better and immediately getting a break of serve back before taking the third set. He appeared to be just minutes away from having to quit before the suspension, although his coaches court-side appeared to be telling him to hold on.
The Italian star ended up winning 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4, and many couldn’t help but point out his prayers were answered by the suspension of play. It was much cooler inside Rod Laver Arena once the roof was closed, which helped Sinner immensely.
“Who knows what might have happened if play in that third set had continued for another 10-15 minutes”, said Todd Woodbridge on Channel 9. “He can thank his lucky stars the heat kept climbing and he had that opportunity to get off court and receive that bit of treatment, get that fluid, the pick juice in the fight off those cramps.”
Shock after Jannik Sinner ‘taps out’ in middle of point
Aussie tennis legend Woobridge was gobsmacked in commentary when Sinner dropped the first set with some uncharacteristic play. The World No.2 bounced back to take the second, but one ‘awful’ moment in the final game of the first set summed up his early struggles.
American underdog Spizzirri caused a huge boilover when he took the first set off the two-time defending Australian Open champion. In the final game of the set, Sinner tried an uncharacteristic drop-shot that gave his opponent on easy winner.
Speaking in commentary for Channel 9, Woodbridge labelled it an “awful” shot and said the Italian star had given up on the point when it got too long for his liking. “What we don’t see from Sinner normally is ‘tapping out’ of a point, saying ‘I’ve had enough’, and that’s exactly what that drop shot was,” Woodbridge said.
Woodbridge said it was “unheard of” how badly Sinner was serving, as the World No.2 was broken three times in the opening set with a woeful first-serve percentage.
Eliot Spizzirri caused a huge boilover when he took the first set off Jannik Sinner. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)
(Getty Images)
Spizzirri appeared to be trying to extend rallies as much as possible to keep Sinner in the sun. Things got worse for Sinner when he was hit with a time violation early in the second set for taking too long between serves, prompting him to question the chair umpire whether he was showing enough leniency considering the conditions.
“That’s going to be key today with this heat and the weather situation,” Woodbridge said. “It doesn’t happen so much in an evening match, you don’t have that direct sunlight, even if it is going to be warm which it still will be this evening. But very different with that direct sunlight.”
Defending champ among top women’s seeds to advance
Meanwhile, the top women’s stars had little trouble after officials commenced play earlier than normal to try and beat the heat. Defending champ Madison Keys beat Karolina Pliskova in straight sets, while Jessica Pegula dispatched Oksana Selekhmeteva and Amanda Anisimova beat compatriot Peyton Stearns.
It was a great start for the American contingent as fourth (Anisimova), sixth (Pegula) and ninth seeds (Keys) all advanced without being taken to a third set. Pegula won 6-3 6-2, while Anisimova prevailed 6-1 6-4 after Keys beat major finalist Pliskova 6-3 6-3.
On the men’s side, Russia’s Karen Khachanov became the latest big-name player to crash out before the fourth round. The 15th seed went down to Italian 22nd seed Luciano Darderi 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 3-6 4-6.
