Jannik Sinner overcomes cramps to reach Australian Open 4th round - ESPN

Limping and desperately trying to stretch out cramps in his arms and legs, Jannik Sinner had just gone down a break in the third set when the extreme heat rules saved him at the Australian Open.

Play was suspended for several minutes while the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena on Saturday afternoon, and the two-time defending champion returned a revitalized man.

After seemingly being on the verge of an unlikely exit — one of his coaches, Darren Cahill, was urging the 24-year-old Italian to stick it out for a few more games — Sinner won five of the next six games to take the set against No. 85-ranked Eliot Spizzirri.

A 10-minute «cooling break» between the third and fourth sets followed — another allowance under the extreme heat policy — and Sinner returned for a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 third-round victory that highlighted a dramatic contrast of intense light and shade.

«I struggled physically today. I got lucky with the heat rule,» Sinner said, agreeing that the cooler indoor conditions suited him much more than the energy-sapping heat of the first two sets. «As the time passed, I felt better and better.»

Reflecting on his state when he trailed 3-1 in the third set, after he had dropped as many service games in this match as he did in winning the 2025 tournament, the No. 2-seeded Sinner said he was just trying to survive until a longer break.

«It started with the legs. Got to the arms. I was cramping a bit all over,» he said. «This is the sport. This is an area I know I need to improve.

»Tennis is a very mental game. I tried to stay as calm as possible. I'm here to fight, to play every point the best possible way."

Spizzirri, a 24-year-old American who was making his debut in the Australian Open main draw, had never won