In stifling heat, the world number 1 qualified for the quarter-finals of the Australian Open thanks to a victory in 4 sets against Holger Rune.
World No.1 Jannik Sinner, clearly affected by the heat on Monday during his victory in the round of 16 of the Australian Open against Holger Rune, felt “lucky” to have involuntarily broken the net and thus benefited from a little respite.
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“I was lucky” of having torn off the hoop which fixes the net to the ground after a failed serve at the start of the 4th set of his match against the Dane Holger Rune (13th), judged the defending champion at a press conference.
To have “20 minutes off the court (the time it took to repair the net, editor’s note), to try to recover physically, to put cold water on my head, it was very beneficial. I was very, very lucky.”said the Italian, who requested a medical timeout and left the court with a scarlet face while leading 3-2 in the 3rd set.
-“Of course, no one expected this to happen.”added Sinner, as if to underline the involuntary nature of the damage inflicted on the net. Asked about the precise nature of his ailments, the world No.1 did not want to “go into details”. “I think we saw that I wasn’t feeling well (…) I felt a little dizzy at certain times”he continued.
“Difficult conditions”
“In terms of injuries I have nothing, I just have some difficulties from a health point of view”Sinner argued. “It was difficult conditions. It was hot yesterday, still hot today (Monday) (…) I knew it was going to be very, very difficult. I fought against a tough opponent, but also a little against myself”a conclu Sinner.
Just after his four-set victory against Rune, Sinner said on court that his morning had been “very strange”. “I didn’t even train this morning, trying to get on court as fresh as possible. I knew I was going to suffer.”he declared during the traditional post-match interview with the winner.
