World No. 2 Jannik Sinner has admitted that he got “lucky” that the heat rule kicked in when it did. The Italian battled back from a set down in sets two, three and four to beat Eliot Spizzirri 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4 after struggling with cramps and calling the physio.
Play was halted early in the third set so the roof could be shut. The players were also given a 10-minute off-court break before set four.
And Sinner told the crowd: “I struggled physically a bit today. We saw this. I got lucky with the heat rule, they closed the roof. I took my time, and as the time passed, I felt better and better, and very happy about this performance.
“Looking back, in every big tournament, I’ve had some really tough matches. Hopefully this can give me some positives for the next round, starting with a good mentality again, and then we see what’s coming. But I’m really, really happy. Thanks for the support, it helped me a lot today, thank you.
“[I struggled with] many things. It started with the leg, then it got into the arm, so I was cramping a bit all over. This is sport, I know this is an area where I need to improve, which is a positive thing. We try to work every day, I have a great team behind me, pushing me.”
AloJapan.com