Sinner Survives Searing Heat, Spizzirri To Advance At Australian Open

Jannik Sinner Australian Open
Jannik Sinner (photo: Tennis Australia/Scott Barbour)

MELBOURNE/WASHINGTON, January 24, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

As the mercury began to rise over Rod Laver Arena Saturday afternoon, surging to 39 degrees (Celsius), two-time Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner started cramp in the searing heat. He started to limp between points, looking to his coaching team for support as he continued to stretch his right quad in between points. The outlook for the 24-year-old Italian did not look good. 

That the World No. 2 Sinner ended up winning his third-round battle over No. 85 Eliot Spizzirri of the United States, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, after three hours and 45 minutes is a testament to his mental strength and never-say-die attitude. Sinner’s mind never wavered – even when his body began to crumble. Of course, the closing of the roof over Rod Laver Arena came to his rescue, too.

After Spizzirri won the opening set, Sinner rebounded to level the match in the second set. Leading 3-1 in the third set, the momentum favored the 24-year-old American as Sinnercontinued to struggle with heat and cramping in his quads. Then, the decision came to close the Rod Laver Arena roof as part of the Australian Open heat policy. There would be a 10-minute break in play – and Sinner, 24, made sure to take advantage of every minute.

“I was alone,” Sinner said. “There was no treatment, you cannot have treatment in that time. I was stretching, I laid down for five minutes and tried to loosen up the muscles, and it worked really well. I tried to get the body temperature down.

“The time passed quite fast, but it did help for sure.”

With the roof closed, the temperature dropped and both players began to adapt to the new conditions, which began to favor Sinner. After the South Tyrolean won the third set, there would be another 10-minute break, due to the heat policy, and Sinner made the most of the break. 

By the end of the match, Sinner had won by firing 17 aces, hitting 56 winners to offset 51 unforced errors – compared to 35 winners and 29 unforced errors by Spizzirri – and he broke his opponent’s serve eight times in 11 tries. Sinner outpointed Spizzirri 121-119. 

“I wouldn’t say he got saved by it,” Spizzirri said post-match, referring to the roof closure. “He’s too good of a player to say that, but at the same time it was challenging timing and that’s just the nature of sport.

“You could say it’s lucky but he’s also very experienced and handled it pretty well I would say.”

The bottom line according to Sinner: “First of all, starting with [Spizzirri], he’s an incredible player,” he said. “He played really, really well today.

“I struggled physically a bit today. We saw this. I got lucky with the heat rule and how they closed the roof. I took my time and as the time passed, I felt better and better and very happy about this performance.”

Sinner added: “I started to cramp a little bit in the third sets, which then after time it went slowly away. I know my body slightly better now, with a bit of experience also trying to handle certain situations better. 

“Looking back in every big tournament I’ve had there were some really tough matches, so hopefully this can give me some positive for the next round.”

Sinner’s next opponent will No. 22 seed Luciano Darderi of Italy, who upset No. 15 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, in three hours and 23 minutes on KIA Arena, behind 17 aces and 43 winners.

Keys sets round of 16 showdown with Pegula

Defending champion Madison Keys set a fourth-round showdown with fellow American and sixth seed Jessica Pegula following her 75-minute 6-3, 6-3 victory over former World No. 1 Karolina Pliskova of Czechia on Rod Laver Arena Saturday morning to advance to her seventh AO round of 16. Keys has now garnered 10 consecutive wins at Melbourne Park dating back to the start of her title run in 2025.

Against Pliskova, Keys jumped out to a 4-0 double-break lead in the opening set and sprinted toward the finish line from there. She struck 25 winners to 24 unforced errors, converted four of nine break points and outpointed Pliskova 69-55.

With the ninth-seeded Keys successful in avenging her defeat to Pliskova from the 2020 Brisbane final, the American No. 4 has tied Caroline Wozniacki‘s 37 match wins at Melbourne Park, second-most behind Venus Williams‘ 54.

“Overall, I think I played pretty well,” Keys said during her on-court interview. “I served well – my serve got me out of a few tricky spots – but overall, I would give myself a little pat on the back. I got through the match and into the fourth round.”

Meanwhile, next door on Margaret Court Arena, Pegula took care of 101st-ranked qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia, 6-3, 6-2, in 66 minutes to advance to her fourth career meeting with her good friend and foe. Keys leads the head-to-head 2-1.

Pegula, who is yet to lose a set through three rounds, dropped just three points on her first serve during her third-round match, winning 88 percent (22 of 25) of her first-serve points. She hit 13 winners, saved both break points she faced and broke her opponent four times. She outpointed Selekhmeteva 62-42.

Regardless of who wins between Keys and Pegula, there will be at least one American in the women’s singles quarterfinals for the 12th straight year. The last time there were no Americans in the last eight was 2014.

Around the Australian Open

Men:

• Ten-time AO champion Novak Djokovic moved to within two wins of a showdown with two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner following his 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over No. 75 Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands in two hours and 44 minutes on Rod Laver Arena Saturday evening. The victory booked the 38-year-old Serbian’s place in the fourth round for the 18th time in 21 appearances. 

“It’s been a great start to the tournament,” the fourth-seeded Djokovic said, answering a question about his physical fitness. “But I’m not getting ahead of myself. I learned a lesson last year, I got too far ahead of myself too early in some of the Grand Slams. I’m trying to give these young guys a push for their money. I’m still around. I’m still hanging in there.”

The victory by Djokovic was his 400th match win at a major– the most by anyone in the Open Era. His 102nd triumph at the Australian Open drew him level with Roger Federer for the AO’s all-time tournament record.

However, it should be noted that Djokovic came very close to being disqualified for nearly hitting a ball kid.

Next, Djokovic will face No. 16 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia, who advanced with a 6-2, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win over No. 80 Ethan Quinn of the United States in two hours and 29 minutes on KIA Arena.

• No. 8 seed Ben Shelton of the United States fought past No. 30 seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (5), in two hours and 17 minutes on Margaret Court Arena to advance to the fourth round against No. 12 seed Casper Ruud of Norway. Shelton, who finished with 15 aces and 48 winners against Vacherot, has yet to drop a set through the first three rounds and is through to his third last-16th appearance at Melbourne Park.

Meanwhile, Ruud needed three hours and four minutes to beat the former US Open champion Cilic from Croatia, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, on Margaret Court Arena. He fired 25 aces and hit 41 winners to offset 55 winners from Cilic.

• No. 5 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy needed four hours and 27 minutes – and five sets – to beat No. 24 Tomas Machac of Czechia, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, to advance to the fourth round against No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz.

The American No. 2 ended the run of 139th-ranked Swiss wild card Stan Wawrinka with his 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory in two hours and 46 minutes on John Cain Arena.

The 40-year-old Wawrinka, who announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season was making his final appearance at the Australian Open. It’s a major that the former World No. 3 Wawrinka won in 2014. When the match ended, Wawrinka addressed the crowd and was presented a gift by tournament director Craig Tiley. 

“We love you here, Stan,” Tiley told Wawrinka. “Well done.” 

Wawrinka, who became the oldest man to reach the third round of the Australian Open since Ken Rosewall in 1978, ran over to his bench and returned to center of the court with two cans of beer. He and Tiley shared a final toast together and Wawrinka did a farewell lap around the arena, pointing to his heart as he received the plaudits from the crowd.

“The atmosphere was once again unbelievable,” Wawrinka said. “So thank you, guys, for always showing up.

“I had so many memories here the last 20 years.”

Women

• No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland continued her pursuit of becoming the third-youngest woman to complete a career Grand Slam after defeating No. 31 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, 6-1, 1-6 6-1, in one hour and 44 minutes on Margaret Court Arena. It marked the first set that Swiatek has lost during the Melbourne fortnight.

“I know that Anna can play amazing tennis,” Swiatek, a six-time major champion, said afterward. “She’s risking a lot from at the same time, she might even starting playing out so I just wanted to be there … to still be proactive and put pressure on her.

“I wanted to focus on myself no matter what was going on on the other side of the net, and I kept t going because the momentum can change.”

Next, Swiatek will face 168th-ranked Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis, who advanced by a walkover against No. 16 Naomi Osaka of Japan. Osaka pulled out because of a physical issue, which she did not disclose. 

 

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• No. 5 seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan set up a fourth-round meeting with No. 21 seed Elise Mertens of Belgium after ending the run of 18-year-old Czech teenager Tereza Valentova, 6-2, 6-3, in one hour and 22 minutes on John Cain Arena. 

Meanwhile, Mertens eliminated 19-year-old 126th-ranked qualifier Nikola Bartunkova of Czechia, 6-0, 6-4, in 76 minutes on John Cain Arena.

• No. 13 seed Linda Noskova became the third Czech woman to lose on Saturday, falling 7-5, 6-4 to No. 46 Wang Xinyu of China. Next, Wang will face No. 4 seed Amanda Anisimova of the United States, who beat fellow American No. 68 Peyton Stearns, 6-1, 6-4, in 71 minutes on Margaret Court Arena.

Anisimova is one of five American women who are through to the round of 16, along with No. 3 seed Coco Gauff, No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula, No. 9 seed and defending champion Madison Keys, and No. 29 seed Iva Jovic.

Saturday’s Australian Open results

Sunday’s Australian Open order of play

Men’s updated singles draw

Women’s updated singles draw

Quick hits

Before Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka withdrew from her fourth-round match against Australia’s Maddison Ingis due to a physical issue, she was in the spotlight of women’s singles draw – not so much for her play, although she won both of her early-round matches. Rather, it was because of her veiled, white wide-brimmed hat and parasol look, which she debuted during her opening-round match against Antonio Ruzic. Her Nike and Robert Wun-designed “ensemble” also included: white flared trousers, a jellyfish-inspired tunic and white buterflies attached to her hat and umbrella.

For her second-round match against Sorana Cirstea, the 16th-seeded Osaka opted for a pared-back version of her walk-out ensemble. Still, it was colorful and different.

Osaka spoke about her fashion choices during one of her news conferences this week. She said: “My simplified look is very extra for some people. I don’t know. I just felt like switching it up. I think it’s kind of fun to keep everyone on the edge. 

“I thought it was really pretty that there were some people [in the crowd] with veils over their hats. I was really grateful for that. For me, it’s kind of cool, like you never know what I’m going to pull out next.”

By the numbers

• At age 20, Learner Tien is the second-youngest American to reach back-to-back men’s singles fourth rounds at a single Grand Slam, after Andy Roddick at the US Open (2001-03).

• Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka has now won 19 consecutive Grand Slam tiebreakers, dating back to 2023 at Roland-Garros, tying Novak Djokovic’s streak from 2005-07.

• Daniel Medvedev is the first player at this year’s Australian Open to come back from two sets down to win. On Friday, the 11th-seeded Medvedev from Russia came back from the brink of defeat to beat Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan, 6-7 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-0, in three hours and 43 minutes. It was Medvedev’s fifth career comeback from two sets to love down – and the fourth time he’s done it in Melbourne.

“Quotable …”

“I assume we’d be playing on Rod Laver. It’s my first-ever fourth round in a Grand Slam. It’s my first time playing the Australian Open – this is a really cool experience.

“I’ve never played a current No. 1 in the world. … I’ve never played on a Grand Slam center court either, a lot of firsts.

“I’m just excited, it’s something not many people get to experience [and] to be doing that on Sunday is, I think, really cool.”

– No. 17 seed Victoria Mboko, 19, of Canada, during her post-match news conference after defeating No. 14 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark on Friday, looking toward her fourth-round match on Sunday against No. 1 seed Aryna Sabalenka.

 

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