Weather intervention saves Sinner's Australian Open defence
World number two Jannik Sinner has admitted he required extraordinary good fortune to keep his Australian Open title defence alive, with Melbourne's extreme heat policy providing crucial respite during a gruelling third-round encounter.
The Italian champion appeared in serious trouble when trailing American Eliot Spizzirri by a service break in the pivotal third set on Saturday, before tournament officials implemented the extreme heat policy and closed the Rod Laver Arena roof.
"I struggled physically a bit today. We saw this. I got lucky with the heat rule, when they closed the roof," the four-time grand slam champion acknowledged following his 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 victory.
"I took my time and, as the time passed, I felt better and better and I'm very happy about this performance."
Physical struggles in extreme conditions
With temperatures exceeding 36 degrees at Melbourne Park, Sinner appeared compromised from the outset, dropping three consecutive service games to concede the opening set. The defending champion's struggles intensified as he required treatment for calf cramping and pickle juice to combat the conditions.
Australian coach Darren Cahill was captured on television urging his charge to "dig deep" and focus on getting through the third set, even if he needed to "walk around" the court.
The timing of the heat policy implementation proved crucial, occurring immediately after Sinner had dropped serve to trail 3-1 in the third set following a demanding 20-shot rally.
Italian tennis advances
Sinner's victory sets up an all-Italian fourth-round encounter with 22nd seed Luciano Darderi, who defeated Russian world number 18 Karen Khachanov 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 6-4.
Italy's strong representation continued with fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti securing a five-set victory over Czech Tomas Machac, marking the first time three Italian men have reached the Australian Open fourth round.
"Happy that this finished. We fought really hard. I knew before starting the match that today with the heat I was prepared to fight until the end," Musetti said after his 6-7 6-4 6-2 5-7 6-2 triumph.
Other results
American Ben Shelton advanced with minimal difficulty, defeating Swiss 30th seed Valentin Vacherot 6-4 6-4 7-6 (7-5) to secure his fourth-round position.
Spizzirri, ranked 85th in the world, accepted the circumstances philosophically, noting they are "the rules of the game and you gotta live with it" despite the unfortunate timing of the heat policy implementation.