MELBOURNE, Australia — Limping and desperately trying to stretch out cramps in his arms and legs, Jannik Sinner had just gone down a break in the third set when the extreme heat rules saved him Saturday afternoon.
Play was suspended for eight minutes while the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena, and the two-time reigning Australian Open champion returned a revitalized man.
After being on the verge of an unlikely exit — one of his coaches, Darren Cahill, was urging the 24-year-old Italian just to stick it out for a few more games — the second-seeded Sinner won five of the next six games to take the set against Eliot Spizzirri, who is ranked No. 85 on the ATP Tour.
Another 10-minute “cooling break” between the third and fourth sets followed — an allowance under the extreme heat policy — and Sinner returned for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory that highlighted a dramatic contrast of intense light and shade.
“I struggled physically today. I got lucky with the heat rule,” Sinner said, agreeing that the cooler indoor conditions suited him much more than the energy-sapping heat of the first two sets. “I try to stay calm even in a moment like this. If he keeps playing the way he was playing, maybe I was dropping a little bit, maybe my tournament was over today. I don’t know.”