Jannik Sinner took full advantage of his huge slice of fortune in the Australian Open third round, securing his spot in the quarter-finals.
The Italian’s struggles in the heat remains one of the outstanding talking points of the tournament so far, particularly given how he seemed destined to be defeated by Eliot Spizzirri at one stage were it not for the enforced break.
Speaking after his most recent win, beating Luciano Darderi with relative ease, Jamie Murray was sceptical when he heard what Darren Cahill had said about Sinner following that match.
Jamie Murray doesn’t believe what Darren Cahill said about Jannik Sinner
Tim Henman was the first to speak about Jannik Sinner’s struggles, live on TNT Sports.
He praised the 24-year-old for reacting so well in the face of such misfortune the round earlier, noting: “He obviously had those struggles, he was cramping in the press conference, and, uh, up against a great friend, who was making, like, difficult. You’ve got to do a lot of running when you’re playing against Sinner, because it’s so difficult to, you know, get on the front foot and try and dictate play.
“So, yeah, I think from Sinner’s point of view, he obviously had his physical issues in the previous round, so he’ll be absolutely delighted to have got through that match again, you know, relatively unscathed, and his opposition are going to get tougher and tougher from now, as well.”
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Laura Robson then added: “We heard from Darren Cahill, or I saw a clip on social media with Darren Cahill talking to the American broadcaster during the warm-up of that, and he actually mentioned that they didn’t put any requests in their scheduling.
“So he was happy to play whenever, wherever, day or night. It just so happened that they put him before 6 p.m. on Margaret Court. You’re shaking your head, Jamie.”
This prompted Murray to express his disbelief, claiming: “I can’t believe that. There’s no way he went through what he went through in that last match, and then they didn’t want him to play as late as possible to give him as much…
“I don’t believe it personally, but I could obviously be wrong, but it’s not… Not what I’m believing.
“I’m not saying it’s wrong. I’m not saying it’s wrong. Like, he’s absolutely within his rights to request, you know, to play later in the day or earlier as all the other players are doing.
“I just, I don’t believe that he went through what he went through without thinking about what his next match was going to be.”
Jannik Sinner no longer looks unbeatable
For large stretches of 2025, Sinner was unbeatable by any player other than Carlos Alcaraz.
In fact, it was only Alexander Bublik who could claim to have beaten him, which is truly mind-blowing considering how many matches he squeezed in despite a three-month ban.
However, that invincibility has been called into question already in 2026, particularly in Melbourne after his struggles in the heat.
Spizzirri proved that, in the right conditions, Sinner can be challenged.
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Even Darderi today, despite losing in three sets, brought about just two fewer break points than his opponent did all match. He failed to convert a single one.
Players are slowly realising that Sinner is no longer the unstoppable, immovable force that he was last year. Perhaps one might take advantage of this apparent fragility to stop him from reaching a third straight Australian Open final.
