Jannik Sinner Vows to Overcome Struggles in Extreme Heat After Surviving Scare at Australian Open: “I’ll Do Everything Possible”

One thing that troubled Jannik Sinner a great deal is playing in sweltering heat. He has often suffered severe cramps when the temperature soars, and the same happened when he was up against Eliot Spizzirri in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday (January 24).

Spizzirri impressed the spectators at Rod Laver Arena by winning the first set against the two-time defending champion. After Sinner tied the score to 1-1, Spizzirri took a 3-1 lead by breaking the second seed.

But the moment before losing the game, Sinner clasped his ankle and winced in pain, limping. The four-time Grand Slam was “lucky” that the moment cramps troubled him, the umpire suspended the play for 10 minutes because the Heat Stress Scale reached 5, and according to the rules, the roof of the stadium was closed.

Sinner at the press conference said that while the roof was closing, he did not receive any treatment, and rather, he stretched and tried to loosen up his muscles. The former World No.1 is well aware of his woes due to heat, so he has vowed to do everything possible to overcome this problem upon being asked whether his struggles in heat have something to do with genetics.

We don’t know. As I said before the tournament, physically I feel good, mentally also. And the only thing at times you can do is fight. Let’s see. For sure, it’s an area where I’d love to improve. There’s a reason why I go to the gym every day. Trying to get better, but at the same time, every player has their own small problems. Maybe this is mine. You don’t know. For sure, there is room to improve, which I’m quite sure we will do everything possible to improve in a positive way, and then we’ll see how it goes.

Jannik Sinner said

Sinner will next be playing a seeded player for the first time in the tournament. It’s his compatriot and 22nd seed Luciano Darderi whom he will be meeting for the first time. Darderi knocked out the 15th seed, Karen Khachanov, in four sets in the previous round.

Jannik Sinner cannot explain why he suffered cramps

It is not the first time heat or cramps bothered Jannik Sinner. He took an 11-minute medical timeout while he was playing against Holger Rune in the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open.

The 24-year-old was forced to give the walkover to Tallon Griekspoor at the Shanghai Masters, where he was playing to defend last year. At the press conference, Sinner said sometimes there are explanations why he struggles.

I feel like sometimes there are no real explanations. For example, last 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, [with] recovery, everything going in the right direction. It can happen. I know my body a little bit better now. I hope that it goes away slowly, which was the case. Today, the rule helped me. I also had 10 minutes after the third set. So I tried to have a good balance.

Jannik Sinner said

Sinner is bidding to become only the second man, after Novak Djokovic, to win three consecutive titles at Melbourne Park. It was here back in 2023 that he lifted his career’s first Grand Slam title by defeating Daniil Medvedev after overcoming a two-set deficit. Last year, he easily defeated World No.3 Alexander Zverev to defend his crown.

Also read: Coco Gauff Lashes Out at the Australian Open Crowd for Being Disrespectful to her American Opponent

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