Last time we checked, luck is part of tennis. Even among the behemoths who have absolutely dominated the hard-court Grand Slams over the past few years, the player who won the Australian Open two years in a row, there’s a place for him.
Just ask Jannik Sinner, who broke serve in the third set against the powerful Eliot Spizzirri on Day 7 when the heat stress index reached 5 and play was stopped because the Rod Laver Arena roof was closed.
These are the rules and we strictly abide by them. Sinner was suffering from cramps and was lucky to have extra time off the field to cool down. He made the most of the time, coming back to win the third set before taking another long break between sets.
Rules put in place to protect player safety also helped the No. 2 seed and two-time defending champion advance today. Call it luck. Call it karma. Call it a seventh consecutive Australian Open win.
“It’s hot today,” Sinner told reporters. “I started cramping up a little bit in the third set, but that slowly went away as time went on. I have a little bit of understanding of my body now and a little bit of experience, you know, trying to handle certain situations better.”
“Yeah, lucky today. When they closed the roof, it took a little while. Trying to relax a little bit. That helped a lot. Also changed the way the game was played at certain points. That definitely helped me today.”
Sinner, who had previously struggled with the heat, wasn’t sure why his body failed him in the four-set win over Spitzri.
“I feel like sometimes there’s no real explanation,” he said. “For example, tonight I didn’t sleep the way I wanted to. The sleep quality wasn’t perfect. Maybe it was; maybe it wasn’t. Regardless, I try to be in the best shape I can every day. Recovery, everything is moving in the right direction. It can happen.”
Sinner was relatively calm in court given the circumstances and obvious distress. He trusted what he knew about his body. He’d been there before, which helped take some of the pressure off him.
“I understand my body a little bit now,” he said. “I hope that slowly fades away, and that’s what happened. The rules helped me today. I had that 10 minutes after the third set as well. Yeah, so trying to have a good balance and have a right, you know, way of playing against him helped me today, for sure.”
This isn’t the first time Sinner has been in danger in Melbourne, nor is it the first time he’s been a bit lucky. Last year, he looked like a ghost during his Round of 16 matchup with Holger Rune, and many speculated he was about to get frustrated. Then there was a problem with the net post in the fourth set, and the players were given a 21-minute break. Good for the sinner, bad for the rune.
He won the tournament and won his second Australian Open title.
Still, Sinner said he’s actively working on improving his body to better resist collapse in extreme heat.
“Certainly, it’s an area I’m looking to improve on. There’s a reason why I go to the gym every day and try to get better,” he said. “But at the same time, you know, every player has his or her own little issues. Maybe it’s mine. You don’t know. But there’s definitely room for improvement and I’m pretty sure we’ll do everything we can to improve in a positive way. And then we’ll see how it goes.”
