Martina Navratilova Reacts to Controversial Australian Open Heat Policy Giving ‘Break’ to Cramping Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner admitted he was “lucky” when the heat policy came into play, right after cramps started to trouble him. In the sweltering Melbourne heat, the two-time defending champion lost the first set against his third-round opponent, Eliot Spizzirri.

After tying the scores to 1-1, Sinner found himself trailing at 1-3 in the third set, but moments before the American broke him, the second seed started to limp. At that time, the Heat Stress Scale reached five, forcing the officials to close the roof, which took about 10 minutes. This gave Sinner some relief, who did not waste this break as he tried to loosen up his muscles and cool down.

Momentum shifted when the play resumed, and the four-time Grand Slam champion eventually booked a spot in the semifinals with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory. This break divided the tennis community, with critics accusing the Australian Open of deliberately saving Sinner from a possible upset.

Renowned tennis journalist Jon Wertheim took to X to share the picture of the Heat Stress Scale and wrote: “Sinner’s prayers answered….we’ve hit 5.” Martina Navratilova agreed, writing, “Lucky break”.

Check out the post here:

A lucky break… https://t.co/9xvVNtVNK4

— Martina Navratilova (@Martina) January 24, 2026

The match also saw Sinner confronting chair umpire Fergus Murphy upon being given the time violation. He argued about failing to serve because of the disturbance from the crowd, who started to boo him. Spizzirri showed sportsmanship here by asking the umpire to withdraw the time violation since he himself was not ready to receive.

Prior to troubling the second seed, Spizzirri knocked out the 28th seed, Joao Fonseca, in the first round and Wu Yibing in the second round. Spizzirri, who made his Australian Open debut, reached the third round of a Major for the first time.

Jannik Sinner says whether he’s concerned that his luck might run out

Jannik Sinner, although he said he always tries to keep negative thinking at bay while competing, admitted that had his level dropped throughout the match against Eliot Spizzirri, he would have crashed out of the Melbourne Slam. At the press conference, Sinner was asked whether he was concerned that some day his luck might run out.

This I don’t know. I believe that I’m someone who tried to put tennis as the highest priority. And I know that I’m doing that for years now. In the back of my mind, I know how much I work. I feel well prepared, even if some problems could happen potentially on the court. Of course, there are going to be days when you don’t find a way. It’s not that everything is going your way.

Jannik Sinner said

Sinner has now reached the Australian Open fourth round for the fifth consecutive time. In 2024, he came from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev in the final, while in last year’s final, the World No.2 breezed past Alexander Zverev.

But with a positive mindset, for sure, more positive things can happen. If you’re on the court thinking in a negative way, most likely, more negative things can come towards you. I try to stay calm even in a moment like this. If he keeps playing the way he was playing and maybe I was dropping a little bit, maybe my tournament was over today. I don’t know. Honestly, I think that’s it.

Jannik Sinner added

Sinner is bidding to become the second man after Novak Djokovic in the Open Era to win three consecutive titles in the first Major of the season. Before defeating Spizzirri, Sinner received the walkover from Hugo Gaston in the first round and knocked out James Duckworth in the following round.

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

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