(Video) Jannik Sinner Confronts Umpire Amid Boos Before Opponent Shows Incredible Sportsmanship at Australian Open

Two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner suffered from cramps during the third-round match against Eliot Spizzirri.

(Video) Jannik Sinner Confronts Umpire Amid Boos Before Opponent Shows Incredible Sportsmanship at Australian Open

Jannik Sinner (R) argued with the umpire during his match against Eliot Spizzirri (Image via X/Roland Garros, Jannik Sinner HQ)

Eliot Spizzirri stunned two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner in the first set during their third-round match at the Australian Open held on Saturday (January 24). Although Sinner finished the match in his favor with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 scoreline, he found himself at the receiving end of criticism.

After losing the first set, Sinner regrouped and was successful in tying the score to 1-1. But before that, at 1-1 in the second set with Sinner leading at 40-15, he approached chair umpire Fergus Murphy upon being given the time violation.

Fans were applauding the two players after an incredible rally won by the Italian. The second seed started to argue that he couldn’t serve because of the noise from the fans, who then started booing.

They were speaking up there, and I had to wait. Do you think I should take a time violation?

Jannik Sinner asked the umpire

Spizzirri then displayed great sportsmanship by approaching the chair umpire and admitting that he himself was not ready to receive because of the crowd, asking Murphy to take away the World No.2’s time violation.

Watch the video here:

During the second set, when Sinner was leading 3-1 and was serving, a fan yelled: “Come on Eliot, knock out Sinner, and send him home for dinner.” The four-time Grand Slam champion, just like last year, struggled a lot due to cramps in the extreme heat.

As the Australian Open Heat Stress Scale hit 5, play was temporarily suspended as the officials closed the room. After about 10 minutes, the players were back on court again, and this saw Sinner ending the match in his favor after three hours and 45 minutes.

Jannik Sinner says he got lucky due to the heat rule

Eliot Spizzirri competed against a top 10 player for the first time in his career. He also made the third round of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

En route to troubling Jannik Sinner, he knocked out Joao Fonseca and Wu Yibing. Prior to this year, he had never featured in the Australian Open main draw. After surviving the scare, Sinner, who hit 51 unforced errors, said he got lucky because of the heat rule.

I struggled physically a bit today. I, you know, we saw this. I got lucky with the heat rule and how they closed the roof. I took my time and, you know, as the time passed, I felt better and better and, and I’m very happy about this performance. Looking back, in every big tournament, you know, I’ve had, there were some really tough matches, so hopefully this can give me some positives for the next round.

Jannik Sinner said during his on-court interview

Sinner will next be locking horns with compatriot Luciano Darderi. The upcoming match will be their first head-to-head meeting.

It started with the leg, then it got into the arms, so I was cramping a bit all over. But, this is sport, I know this is an area where I need to improve, which is a positive thing, which we would try to work on every day. I have a great team behind me who is pushing me in the right direction. But at the same time, at the end of the day, tennis is a very mental game. I just try to stay as calm as possible.

Jannik Sinner added

The 24-year-old is chasing a three-peat at Melbourne Slam. If he wins, he will become the second man after Novak Djokovic in the Open Era to win three consecutive Australian Open titles. In the previous two years, Sinner defeated Daniil Medvedev (2023) and Alexander Zverev (2024), respectively.

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