When Jannik Sinner plays at the Australian Open: background with Spizzirri
After a crushing victory over James Duckworth, Jannik Sinner is ready to return to the court at the Australian Open. The world and seeded number two will take on Eliot Spizzirri, number 85 in the ATP rankings, who overcame Wu in the second round, as well as surprisingly eliminating Joao Fonseca in the opener.
The match between l’Azzurro and l’American is scheduled no earlier than 2 a.m. Italian time (12 p.m. local time) on Rod Laver Arena, following the women’s match between Karolina Pliskova and Madison Keys, which will open the program (brought forward due to extreme heat in Melbourne) on center court.
Between Sinner and Spizzirri there is no precedent. L’americanto, however, has had several intersections with blue tennis. At the Brest Challenger, he eliminated Giulio Zeppieri in the quarterfinals at the end of three sets, before also overcoming Francesco Passaro. At the 2025 U.S. Open, however, his path came to a halt against Luciano Darderi, while at the Phoenix Challenger it was Flavio Cobolli who eliminated him. In the early days of 2026 he then reached the quarterfinals at the ASB Classic, stopped by Fabian Marozsan.
Sinner is in the hunt for a third consecutive Australian Open. A trio that has only succeeded in the tournament’s history by three tennis players: Jack Crawford (1931 to 1933), Roy Emerson (winner five editions in a row, from 1963 to 1967) and Novak Djokovic. The Serbian has made it a hat trick twice in Melbourne: from 2011 to 2013 and from 2019 to 2021. By winning the tournament, the world number two would also avert Carlos Alcaraz’s chance to complete the Grand Slam (the Spaniard has never won the Australian Open).
