John McEnroe Questions Timing of Australian Open Heat Rule Interruption During Jannik Sinner’s Match: “Looks Like There’s Favoritism”

Jannik Sinner will meet fellow Italian Luciano Darderi in the fourth round of the Australian Open.

John McEnroe Questions Timing of Australian Open Heat Rule Interruption During Jannik Sinner’s Match: “Looks Like There’s Favoritism”

John McEnroe, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Mirror Sport, Jannik Sinner HQ)

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Play was suspended by the officials during Jannik Sinner‘s third-round Australian Open match against Eliot Spizzirri thanks to the heat policy, according to which the officials have to close the roof if the Heat Stress Scale reaches five. Sinner received a much-needed break and got some time to cool down after severe cramps bothered him mid-match once again.

Sinner was trailing 1-3 in the third set and started limping, and at that exact moment, the officials implemented the heat policy. Former player John McEnroe, during ESPN’s broadcast, questioned the timing of the suspension of play.

It looks like there’s favoritism…if the shoe was in the other foot, I’d like to hope that they would pull the plug also…I don’t know if they would have.

During that 10-minute break, the four-time Grand Slam champion tried to cool down and denied receiving any treatment. This is not the first time brutal conditions affected the South Tyrol native.

In the fourth round of last year’s Australian Open against Holger Rune, the World No.2 took an 11-minute medical timeout. Due to severe cramps under sweltering conditions, Sinner was forced to give the walkover to Tallon Griekspoor at the Shanghai Masters last year.

Martina Navratilova gives her verdict on the match suspension during Jannik Sinner versus Eliot Spizzirri

After that brief halt, when the play was resumed, a revitalized Jannik Sinner made a strong comeback, clinching the third as well as the fourth sets to win with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 scoreline to book a spot in the fourth round at Melbourne Park for the fifth consecutive time. Reacting to the whole thing, Martina Navratilova gave her verdict on Tennis Channel.

Jannik Sinner (2)
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

I mean, he got the break he needed because you saw, he could barely walk. He was done. He would have lost that game for sure. Instead, he gets the reprieve, the body goes back to normal, he breaks back, and the match is completely different. He was down a break in the second set as well.

Sinner will next be locking horns with fellow Italian Luciano Darderi, who eliminated Karen Khachanov. The second seed will be facing Darderi for the first time in his career.

Laura Robson rubbishes conspiracy theories after Jannik Sinner’s match

Critics of Sinner are convinced the Australian Open manipulated the rules to give Sinner some time to recover. But Laura Robson, on TNT Sports, rubbished such claims.

Jannik Sinner (3)
Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

He was talking to Darren Cahill and saying, ‘I don’t know if I can do this’. Darren was saying just walk through the third set and get off the court because they knew there was a very good chance that the heat rule was coming in. He certainly got lucky. People will be convinced that there were other factors in play and that the tournament did it on purpose, but genuinely, it was boiling at that point of the day, and it was pure kismet that the match stopped when it did.

Tim Henman was convinced the 24-year-old would have suffered upset without the heat policy, comparing this incident to that of Grigor Dimitrov‘s pectoral muscle injury in last year’s Wimbledon, which saw Sinner receive the walkover after losing the first two sets. Sinner has vowed to work on himself to figure out a way to stop cramps from troubling him mid-match.

Another Australian Open title will make Sinner the second man in the Open Era after Novak Djokovic to win three back-to-back titles in the event. It was here back in 2024 that Sinner lifted his career’s first Major by overcoming Daniil Medvedev in five sets. Last year, he defended his crown with a straight-set win over Alexander Zverev.

Also read: Novak Djokovic Gives an Emotional Salute to Stan Wawrinka After the Swiss’s Last Australian Open Match