Jannik Sinner confirmed his place in the Australian Open quarter-finals by defeating Luciano Darderi in straight sets.
Unlike his struggles against Eliot Spizzirri, Sinner looked in control throughout as he defeated his compatriot in straight sets.
Sinner became the third youngest player to reach nine consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals, although the world number two will surely have his sights set on bigger accolades.
After John McEnroe claimed Jannik Sinner was ‘favoured’ at the Australian Open, the Italian’s coach has confirmed the scheduling slot he turned down for his fourth round match against Darderi.
Jannik Sinner turned down Rod Laver Arena slot at the Australian Open
Darren Cahill was interviewed by commentators ahead of Sinner’s fourth round match against Luciano Darderi.
The Australian coach offered an update on Sinner’s fitness after his struggles in the heat against Eliot Spizzirri.
“The recovery has been pretty normal in the last 48 hours. He woke up yesterday feeling pretty good but not great,” said Cahill.
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Much was made of Sinner being moved to Margaret Court for his match with Darderi, but Cahill confirmed that the Italian did not request his position in the schedule.
“We had a 45 minute hit indoors and we did not request a night session yesterday,” he said, although he did confirm that he turned down another slot after being given Margaret Court.
Cahill confirmed: “We could have been moved to the night session when Mensik pulled out. It was offered to Jannik to move to that second at night, but he was quite happy with the schedule when it came out, that he was here not before 6pm on Margaret Court, so we just stuck to the schedule. There is no problem whatsoever for Jannik playing in this stadium.”
Sinner will now play the winner of Ben Shelton and Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals as he looks to win his third consecutive Australian Open crown.
The warning Darren Cahill gave Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open
Cahill has often been a beacon for Sinner since the pair started working together and the Australian revealed the warning he sent to the Italian ahead of his match with Spizzirri.
“It must be said that I did say to Jannik before that match a couple of days ago that this one against Eliot is going to be incredibly tough. You need to treat this guy like he is a top 10 player,” he said.
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Cahill is familiar with Spizzirri’s game and believed he had all the necessary weapons to beat the world number two.
“I have had the chance to watch him a lot in the last 12 months, he has played a bunch of young Aussies in the Challenger Tour.
“I have seen him come through and play a lot and he is a kid with a big future. We got a glimpse into that the other night, so well done to Eliot as well.”
Spizzirri is the only player to take a set off Sinner so far at the Australian Open, and it might have been much more than that without the introduction of the heat rule.
