Plagued by cramps: Sinner drags himself into the round of 16

When the score was 4:6,6:3,1:2, Sinner had treatment for the first time. But the massage on his legs didn’t seem to work at first. The South Tyrolean was just limping across the pitch. “I don’t know what to do,” said the 24-year-old to his coaching team. Sinner had to give up his serve to make it 1:3 before the game was interrupted due to the heat in order to close the roof over the Rod Laver Arena. Sinner disappeared into the cabin to cool off.

“I was lucky with the heat rule today,” said Sinner after the physical feat. “I had cramps everywhere. It started with my legs and then it went into my arms. I know I have to improve in that area,” said the Italian, who was nevertheless proud of himself. “Tennis is a very mental game. I tried to stay calm and find a way. I succeeded.” The so-called “Heat Stress Scale” has been in effect at the Australian Open for several years. This is a scale from one to five which, in addition to the air temperature, also takes into account the direct heat radiation from the sun, air humidity and wind speed. If a value of 5.0 is reached, the games must be interrupted and the roofs in the large arenas must be closed.

For Sinner, the rule saved the day on Saturday. While the games on the outdoor courts were interrupted, Sinner still had physical problems under the closed roof and with the air conditioning running, but the four-time Grand Slam champion got the difficulties under control to some extent. Last year he had already suffered extremely from the heat in the round of 16 against the Dane Holger Rune and only managed to avoid an exit with difficulty. This time Sinner suffered again, but also found a way against the strong Spizzirri (ATP 85th). For the first time since the Vienna final on October 26th against the German Alexander Zverev and twelve confident victories on the ATP tour, Sinner gave up a set again.

Defending champion Madison Keys had previously successfully survived her third round game in the Rod Laver Arena. The American, seeded number 9, easily beat Karolina Pliskova from the Czech Republic 6:3.6:3.