American Elliot Spizzilli wants answers about the timing of the heat rule that wiped out any momentum he had during his four-set loss to Jannik Sinner in the third round of the Australian Open on Saturday.
Spizzilli, who split the first two sets and was broken 3-1 inside Rod Laver Arena, appeared in disbelief as Sinner stumbled with cramps after tournament officials suspended play due to excessive heat. As Sinner hobbled around the baseline, battling arm and leg cramps, the heat stress index at the Australian Open reached 5.0 on court, and play was halted to close the roof for some cooling.
Sinner, the two-time defending Australian Open champion, left the court and made the most of his 10-minute recovery period by hydrating, supplementing with electrolytes and using a cooling towel. After two hours on the court and the game tilting in his direction, Spizzilli played right after his main draw debut in sweltering temperatures in Melbourne.
“I’m not going to sit here and blame the rules because everyone has them, but I was just struck by the timing of it hitting 5.0,” Spizzilli said.
Some kind of physical readjustment was just what Sinner needed after the break to recover and take the third set, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.
“I felt like he gave me a lifeline when I was physically at my limit. As a player, that’s a very hard pill to swallow when you have momentum,” Spizzilli said.
Australian Open heat stress scale
1.0 | calm playing conditions |
2.0 | increase hydration |
3.0 | Apply cooling strategy |
4.0 | extended break |
5.0 | Pausing play |
Spizzilli’s aggressive style led to a first set victory that featured a series of forehand winners and an extended rally. No. 85 Spizzilli, who was matched up with the No. 2 player in the world rankings, continued to play with great spirit even after losing the second set, taking the lead in the third set and cornering Sinner.
That’s when fatigue began to show on thinners. Sinner was slow to reach the corner and was left face-lifted before play was stopped. But in the third game, when play resumed after a “cooling break,” Sinner won five of the next six, returning to near-perfect play with baseline volleys for the remainder of the nearly four-hour match.
Sinner never seemed comfortable against the former University of Texas star until the roof closed and the moisture cleared.
“The change in momentum was unbelievable, it was like playing a completely different person,” Spizzilli said. “He went from being able to barely walk to being able to line up and serve at normal speed. Whether the roof is open or closed, we have to find a way to finish the match. That’s on me.”
Before play was suspended, Sinner had already lost as many service games to Spizzilli as he did during his dominant performance at last year’s Australian Open.
“I struggled physically today, but I was lucky with the heat rule,” Sinner said. “As time went on, I started to feel better and better.”
Ben Shelton on Cruise Control
Sinner is one of three Italian fighters who made it to the fourth round and will next face one of them and Luciano Daldelli. The men’s team will have four Americans participating in Saturday’s game: Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul and Lerner Tien.
Shelton, who is aiming for his first Grand Slam, has yet to drop a set in Melbourne.
“Before I got injured at the U.S. Open last summer, I think I played the best I’ve ever played in any tournament,” Shelton said after defeating Valentin Bachelot 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5) in the third round. “I think we’ll probably finish second, but it’s really encouraging to be able to maintain this form so early in the year.”
Shelton is playing the best tennis since he was born. Forced to withdraw from US Open Last summer, he injured his shoulder in the fifth set of the third round of a thriller.
Shelton showed a little bit of everything in his first week on hard courts, from his powerful serve to his fearsome forehand winner.
“I think there’s a lot of things that we’re doing really well, and there are things that we’ve improved on, and we might be better in small areas than we were last summer,” Shelton said this week. “But in terms of being in a flow state and being completely confident and understanding what I’m doing on the court, the nuances of return of serve, using continental skills in stretches, defense-to-offense defense, I was probably in the rhythm of all of that a little bit better last summer.
“But I think my serve is much better now. I think I’ve definitely made progress in how I flatten my forehand and change the speed of my backhand with the slice, topspin, and flat ball.”
