Jannik Sinner reveals what he did during ‘lucky’ mid-match break after walking off court | Tennis | Sport

Jannik Sinner got a lifeline during his brutal third-round contest with Eliot Spizzirri on a scorching day in Melbourne. The No. 2 seed struggled in the heat and started cramping early in the third set, calling the trainer. Play was then halted with Spizzirri leading 3-1 in the third so the roof could be closed as the heat rule came into effect, and the Italian left the court to regroup. Sinner went on to win 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 and confessed that he got “lucky” with the timing of the break.

The two-time defending champion has now shared exactly what he did with his few minutes off the court. Sinner also took a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets in accordance with the heat policy. And it proved crucial as he came back to win in three hours and 45 minutes.

“I was alone. There was no treatment. You cannot have treatment in that time. So I was stretching. I laid down for five minutes, trying to loosen up the muscles,” the 24-year-old said. “It worked really well. Trying to get the body temperature a bit more down. That’s it. There are not many things you can do. Time passed quite fast, but it helped me, for sure.”

It’s not the first time Sinner has struggled in the heat. He raised concerns during his fourth-round match against Holger Rune here last year when he was seen shaking during the changeovers. Until Saturday’s clash with Spizzirri, that was also the last time Sinner had dropped a set at Melbourne Park.

The world No. 2 was also forced to retire mid-match at the Shanghai Masters last year when he started cramping in the heat and could barely walk. But the four-time Grand Slam champion has attempted to address those issues by spending his last two pre-seasons in Dubai.

He explained: “I mean, we now twice in a row that we go to Dubai for a reason and also for the weather conditions. This year was not as warm as it was last year. I feel like sometimes there are no real explanations.

“For example, this night I didn’t sleep the way I wanted to. The quality of sleep was not perfect. Maybe it was this; maybe not. Regardless of that, I try to be in the best possible shape every day. Recovery, everything is going in the right direction. It can happen.

“I know my body a little bit better now. I hope that it goes slowly away, which that was the case. Today with the rule helped me. I had also the 10 minutes after the third set. Yeah, so I tried to have a good balance and having a right, you know, way to play against him helped me today, for sure.”

Sinner will now face countryman Luciano Darderi for a place in the quarter-finals. No. 22 seed Darderi beat Karen Khachanov in four sets to reach the second week of a Major for the first time in his career.

“Obviously next match, let’s see what’s coming. Practised only once, so it’s not a lot. But very happy, you know, to have at least one Italian for sure in the quarters. Again, in a Grand Slam, it’s great,” the second seed said.