"Lucky" Jannik Sinner overcomes cramps to keep Australian Open title defense alive

World No. 2 Jannik Sinner's Australian Open title defense will continue after getting "lucky,"

On a day where temperatures hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit, Sinner looked on the verge of an unlikely exit against American Eliot Spizzirri before being saved by the tournament's extreme heat policy early in the third set.

Limping at one point as he attempted to stave off oncoming cramps in his arms and legs, Sinner went down a break at 3-1 when play was suspended for several minutes and the roof was closed on Rod Laver Arena when the so-called "Heat Stress Scale" reached 5 on a scale of 5.

The scale was introduced in 2019 in an attempt to minimize the risk of heat-related illnesses for both players and spectators, and takes into account four climate factors: air temperature, radiant heat, humidity and wind speed.

Upon resumption, Sinner won five of the next six games to take a two-sets-to-one lead. After a 10-minute “cooling break” between the third and fourth sets followed, also a part of the extreme heat policy, and Sinner eventually completed a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 victory.

Sinner confessed to reporters post-match that he couldn't pinpoint what has caused recurring cramping issues, He suffered similarly in a match against Holger Rune in his Melbourne title run last year, and most recently, he retired from a match against Tallon Griekspoor at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai in October because of a cramping episode.

"I try to be in the best possible shape every day. Recovery, everything going in the right direction. It can happen," he said.

"I hope that it goes slowly away, which that was the case. Today with the rule helped me. ... I tried to having a good balance and having a right way to play against him helped me today, for sure."

In addition to having to overcome his own body, Sinner also faced a stern challenge in the form of the former University of Texas standout, currently ranked No. 85 and contesting his first Australian Open main draw. The Greenwich, Conn. native had previously upset No. 28 seed Joao Fonseca in the first round.

Read more: Eliot Spizzirri achieved something “amazing” last year. How much further can he go?

"I felt like he was moving very well, especially with the backhand not missing barely any shots," Sinner said. "Felt like he had a great balance of how much he should go for. Started to move around the ball really well.

"After, I changed a bit, you know, in the rhythm and also the pace a little bit, which helped me to get into points in different ways.

"[I] have to give him a lot of credit, you know, coming here first time playing in Australia, playing this level. It's great. Seems like a good guy. I wish him obviously only the best."

Sinner moves on to face fellow Italian and No. 22 Luciano Darderi, who was a four-set winner over No. 16 seed Karen Khachanov.