Martina Navratilova and John McEnroe tough on Jannik Sinner after roofing affair
The ‘roof case’ rages at the Australian Open: the organizers’ decision to stop the match between Jannik Sinner and Eliot Spizzirri to close the roof due to excessive heat has sparked a series of controversies. According to many insiders and former tennis players there’s been a clear desire to save the Blue, who was cramping at the time. “There seems to be favoritism. If the situation had been different, I like to think they would have behaved in the same way…I don’t know if they would have done it” thundered former number one John McEnroe after the match.
Former women’s number one Martina Navratilova also commented rather dryly on what happened: “He got the break he needed because, as you saw, he could barely walk. He was finished. He would have lost that game for sure, no doubt about it. Instead, she gets the break, the body goes back to normal, she recovers and the match is completely different”, the women’s tennis legend told Tennis Channel.
“Even in the second set she was down a break. She could have been down two sets to none and down a break. So a lot of things went his way for him, but in the end his mind stayed focused. What we have to ask is, should they have started playing with the roof closed? Everyone knew that the temperature would rise to the point that the roof would be closed, and maybe we would have to stop on the outfields”.
Andy Roddick at the microphones of his podcast also gave his verdict: “That rule changed the dynamics of the whole tournament, Sinner was cooked and if I had been Spizzirri I would have gone out of my mind. Just before the chair judge made his decision I was sure that if they had not closed the roof Sinner would have lost. It is hard to recover from a cramping situation like that when you have to keep using your body”.
Jannik Sinner on Monday will face compatriot Luciano Darderi in the round of 16: the Blue is in the hunt for a third consecutive Australian Open title.
