Cramps, heat and almost four hours of tennis – Sinner survived Spicieri and the drama in Melbourne

In a match marked by difficult playing conditions, Italian tennis player Yannick Sinner defeated American Elliott Spizziri in a 3-1 comeback, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the round of 16 of the Australian Open.

Spizziri, the 85th ranked tennis player in the world, started the match well, winning the first set, but to beat Sinner, all the dice have to fall into place, which did not happen to the American.

Four breaks were exchanged in the first set, and Spicieri made another at 4:4 and then confirmed it to win the first set.

The course of the match was such that it seemed like a big surprise was in the making, as Spizziri made another break at the beginning of the second set and took the lead, while Sinner was not at his peak because he was having problems with cramps.

However, at 3:1 in the second set, the match was stopped due to the extreme heat rule. The roof was then pulled up on the Rod Laver Arena, the Italian rested and managed to fully return to the match.

What is the extreme heat rule?
Instead of simply measuring the temperature, the Australian Open's system takes into account multiple factors in real time: air temperature, humidity, solar radiation intensity and wind speed. The measurements are taken right next to the courts, and the result is displayed on a scale of 1 to 5, which determines how the tournament is performing that day. In this match, the indicator showed the number 5, which meant the match was stopped and the roof was pulled down.

After the resumption, the Italian quickly regained the break and won that set 6:3.

In the third set, which lasted the longest – one hour and 16 minutes, Spizziri was again the first to break his rival's serve, but once again the second seed in the tournament pulled away and with two breaks took the lead in sets, winning this set 6:4.

The same scenario was repeated in the fourth set. Spizziri struck first, Sinner came back and made a decisive break at 3:3, and then easily brought the match to an end for a final victory of 3:1 in a duel that lasted three hours and 44 minutes.

The Italian will play against his compatriot Luciano Darderi in the round of 16.

In a match marked by difficult playing conditions, Italian tennis player Yannick Sinner defeated American Elliott Spizziri in a 3-1 comeback, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, to advance to the round of 16 of the Australian Open.

Spizziri, the 85th ranked tennis player in the world, started the match well, winning the first set, but to beat Sinner, all the dice have to fall into place, which did not happen to the American.

Four breaks were exchanged in the first set, and Spicieri made another at 4:4 and then confirmed it to win the first set.

The course of the match was such that it seemed like a big surprise was in the making, as Spizziri made another break at the beginning of the second set and took the lead, while Sinner was not at his peak because he was having problems with cramps.

However, at 3:1 in the second set, the match was stopped due to the extreme heat rule. The roof was then pulled up on the Rod Laver Arena, the Italian rested and managed to fully return to the match.

What is the extreme heat rule?
Instead of simply measuring the temperature, the Australian Open's system takes into account multiple factors in real time: air temperature, humidity, solar radiation intensity and wind speed. The measurements are taken right next to the courts, and the result is displayed on a scale of 1 to 5, which determines how the tournament is performing that day. In this match, the indicator showed the number 5, which meant the match was stopped and the roof was pulled down.

After the resumption, the Italian quickly regained the break and won that set 6:3.

In the third set, which lasted the longest – one hour and 16 minutes, Spizziri was again the first to break his rival's serve, but once again the second seed in the tournament pulled away and with two breaks took the lead in sets, winning this set 6:4.

The same scenario was repeated in the fourth set. Spizziri struck first, Sinner came back and made a decisive break at 3:3, and then easily brought the match to an end for a final victory of 3:1 in a duel that lasted three hours and 44 minutes.

The Italian will play against his compatriot Luciano Darderi in the round of 16.