Former world No 4 Tim Henman proclaimed that Jannik Sinner was “absolutely cooked” and heading out of the Australian Open before play was suspended due to heat rules.
Sinner, who is the two-time reigning Australian Open champion, looked in serious danger during his third round match with world No 85 Elliot Spizzirri.
The world No 2 was suffering badly with fully body cramps as temperatures rose as high as 38 degrees Celsius, and he trailed 1-3 in the third set when the match was stopped due to the tournament’s extreme heat policy.
Play was suspended for 10 minutes and the Rod Laver Arena roof was closed, giving Sinner a chance to recover and allowing the temperature to drop.
The 24-year-old Italian broke back immediately after play resumed and managed to seal a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win after a major scare.
Reacting to the match on TNT Sports, Henman had no doubt that Sinner’s tournament would have been over if the match had not been stopped.
“It was only three games into the third set and Sinner’s going into a full body cramp, at that moment in time, you said his race is run, you thought that he was going to be out of the tournament,” said the six-time major semi-finalist.
“And then just as the heat rule came in, they shut the roof, it gave Sinner a break, it gave him the opportunity to get off the court and regroup, and once the roof was shut, the ambient temperature in the arena comes down, his body temperature came down, and he was able to make a recovery.
“But it was an absolute get out of jail free card today.”
The Brit continued: “He couldn’t have been in more trouble, he was absolutely cooked out there. But he’s got a lifeline.
“It makes me think back to [Sinner’s match against Grigor] Dimitrov at Wimbledon. [Sinner was] down two sets to love and then suddenly Dimitrov blows out his pec muscle, has to retire.
“This is on similar lines. He had to earn it by winning the third and fourth, but without that interruption, he goes home for sure.”
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Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier praised Sinner for his composure.
“There was a lot going on,” said the former world No 1.
“Remember last year against Holger Rune, he was in a lot of trouble on a hot day just like this in the fourth round.
“He survived that one when the net broke and he got about 20 extra minutes in the air conditioning, so this was a game-changer for Jannik Sinner.
“It didn’t happen straight away, it took him time for his body to really cool down, the core temperature finally coming down.
“Spizzirri was not able to hold onto the break early and that was really costly for Eliot, who did look much better in the heat.
“But this is one of those matches where it was just about survival and using his guile, because it was his mind that got him through this as much as anything.
“He didn’t panic, he knew he was in trouble, but he stayed calm and that’s one way to make sure the cramps don’t get worse.”
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