Jannik Sinner battles exhaustion, heat rule to avoid Australian Open upset

While ample swaths of the U.S. faced crystal and snowfall this weekend, tennis stars successful Australia battled utmost heat.

The conditions took a noticeable toll connected Italian Jannik Sinner, who tried to agelong done evident cramps and needed the assistance of an air-conditioning conduit during the 3rd circular of men’s singles astatine the Australian Open.

Nearly 100-degree temperatures successful the 3rd acceptable appeared to spark Sinner’s cramping issues. Sinner struggled to present a high-velocity service successful the 3rd set, with 1 effort registering conscionable 69 mph. Sinner’s opponent, American Eliot Spizzirri, led 2-1 successful the set.

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Jannik Sinner of Italy successful enactment against Eliot Spizzirri of United States successful the 3rd circular of the men's singles astatine the Australian Open astatine Rod Laver Arena successful Melbourne Park connected Jan. 24, 2026 successful Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. (Mike Frey/Imagn Images)

However, the tournament's two-time defending champion was apt alert that a much-needed respite was connected the skyline considering the Australian Open’s Heat Stress Scale. The standard takes aggregate factors into account, including the temperature, radiant vigor (or the spot of the sun), humidity and upwind speed. 

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When rules permitted, players were instructed to exit the tribunal portion the Rod Laver Arena extortion was closed. Despite Spizzirri’s disposable vexation with the timing of the break, tourney rules required that play beryllium suspended astatine adjacent games erstwhile vigor thresholds are exceeded. After the stoppage, Sinner returned and looked revitalized.

Jannik Sinner of Italy talks with his squad members successful the 3rd circular of the men's singles against Eliot Spizzirri of the United States during Day Seven of the 2026 Australian Open astatine Melbourne Park connected Jan. 24, 2026 successful Melbourne, Australia. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Sinner won 5 of the adjacent six games to instrumentality the acceptable against Spizzirri. Sinner trailed aboriginal successful the 4th acceptable but rallied to unafraid a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 triumph that highlighted a melodramatic opposition of aggravated airy and shade.

"I struggled physically today. I got fortunate with the vigor rule," Sinner said, agreeing that the cooler indoor conditions suited him overmuch much than the energy-sapping vigor of the archetypal 2 sets. "I effort to enactment calm adjacent successful a infinitesimal similar this. If helium keeps playing the mode helium was playing, possibly I was dropping a small bit, possibly my tourney was implicit today. I don’t know."

Jannik Sinner cools down with an aerial conditioning conduit successful the men's singles 3rd circular during Day Seven of the 2026 Australian Open astatine Melbourne Park connected Jan. 24, 2026 successful Melbourne, Australia. (Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Spizzirri was magnanimous astir it, adding: " That’s the rules of the game, and, you know, you got to unrecorded with it."

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Sinner volition look chap Italian Luciano Darderi successful the 4th circular connected Sunday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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