Jannik Sinner and the roof: Spizzirri explains why he reacted the way he did after defeat

It had been since October that Jannik Sinner had not lost a set: breaking the spell was the surprising U.S. player Eliot Spizzirri, who put the Azzurro in great difficulty during the match valid for the third round of the Australian Open. Complicated by the heat and cramps, the Italian tennis player went into a slump at the beginning of the third set and the closing roof of the Rod Laver Arena, decided on the result of 3-1 for the American, was providential because it allowed him time to recover and find himself. Controversy immediately broke out on the net and there were those who argued that the South Tyrolean champion was favored.

Luca Franzosi

But there is no conspiracy: just then the Extreme Heat Policy scale in effect at Melbourne Park, or the index measuring humidity and heat, reached its maximum value, forcing organizers to intervene. Spizzirri after being made aware of the decision almost laughed, and in a press conference explained his reaction this way: “I don&#8217t know if it saved him, I smiled a bit’when the heat rule came into play, I was having fun with the score 3-1 in my favor”.

“It&#8217s funny that it ended just as I broke him and he was faltering, but that&#8217s the way it went. These are the rules of the game and you have to live with them. If I had won the third set, we still would have had a ten-minute break because of the heat, who knows? I wouldn’t say he was saved because of that, he’s too good, even though it happened in his moment of difficulty. You can say he was lucky, but he has a lot of experience and handled his situation well”.

On the Blue’s difficulties:”It”s difficult when you see that your opponent has cramps or seems to have injured himself, his ball speed usually decreases, also his service speed has dropped. We slowed down a little bit’the pace of the match, he started taking his time, so it was very complicated for me to stay aggressive, continuing to use the same ball speed as before”.

Still on the rules against the heat: “Rules are rules, I have nothing to say about them. I&#8217ve played in much worse conditions, I&#8217ve trained in much more difficult situations, in Austin during college the conditions were terrible. Maybe it was good to have that experience but, at the same time, I can&#8217t deny that I didn&#8217t feel a very warm climate here. I would say that most players have had to compete in extreme conditions, so this rule is to protect us”.