Jannik Sinner survived a scare against Eliot Spizzirri after overcoming cramps to defeat the American in four sets.
The Italian struggled with the extreme heat before protocol allowed the roof to be closed on Rod Laver Arena.
Sinner had been given the toughest Australian Open slot by the Grand Slam and it was very nearly costly, but the world number two managed to keep his campaign alive.
There has been a mass debate surrounding the roof closure, and whether it gave Sinner an unfair advantage, and now Eliot Spizzirri has joined the debate.
Eliot Spizzirri explains if Jannik Sinner got ‘lucky’ against him
Spizzirri was competing well against Sinner in the opening two sets and looked to be dealing with the climate better than his Italian counterpart.
That all changed when the roof was closed and Sinner managed to win the last three sets by a single break of serve.
Asked if Sinner received a lifeline by the closure of the roof, Spizzirri responded: Yeah, I don’t know if he got saved by it. You know, I smiled a little bit when the heat rule went into effect, just because it was kind of funny timing as I went up 3-1, but at the same time, you know, the game at 2-1 in the third set was when the heat, when it hit, I think it’s 5.0, which means that the heat rule is in effect.
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“So whenever that game was over, whether I broke or whether he held, we were going to close the roof. It was just funny that right when I broke and he was wobbling, that it happened to happen that way.”
The American was magnanimous in defeat, however, and remained neutral about the silver lining for Sinner.
“That’s the rules of the game, and, you know, you got to live with it. If I had won that third set, we were going to have a ten-minute break anyways because of how hot it was, even if the roof didn’t close. So who knows?
“We’ve seen him do this before where there’s an extended break, and he gathers himself and comes out and figures it out. I think he did it against maybe Holger Rune one time, if I’m not mistaken, at this tournament.
“Yeah, I wouldn’t say, like, he got saved by it. He’s too good of a player to say that, but at the same time, you know, it was, you know, challenging timing, and that’s just the nature of the sport.
“You could say that. I don’t know (smiling). You could say it’s lucky, but he’s also very experienced and handled it, you know, pretty well, I would say.”
Sinner secured a round four match with his compatriot Luciano Darderi, which is set to take place on 26 January.
Does Eliot Spizzirri agree with the Australian Open rules?
Spizzirri certainly dealt with the conditions better than Sinner, and he’s had his say on whether the rules are fair to the players.
“I mean, the rules are the rules. I obviously don’t have a say in what the rules are. I was just saying that I’ve played in way worse conditions. I’ve trained in way worse conditions.”
The American believes his time on the college circuit prepared him well for the Australian heat in Melbourne.
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“In college we played in brutal conditions at times in Austin.You know, maybe that’s just a good thing to have under my belt that I’ve played and trained in those conditions, but at the same time, I’m not going to lie and say that I didn’t feel like it wasn’t crazy hot.
“That’s just comparative to what I’ve trained in and been in before.I think, you know, for the most part, I would say players have played in pretty brutal conditions, but at the same time, this rule is protection for us, I guess.”
Nevertheless, Spizzirri believes the heat rule does level the playing field for the majority of players on the tour.
“I think it will hopefully promote guys to stay healthier for a longer period of time throughout the season, because playing these matches in this heat for an extended period of time over and over, day after day, is really tough on the body.
“I’m not going to say it’s a bad rule. I think it’s probably a great rule, but yeah, I don’t think today — today did not feel, you know, like the hottest day that I’ve played in, for sure.”
Spizzirri is up to a career ranking high of World No. 71 after his Australian Open exploits, so it’s been a tournament to remember for the American.
