Heat, cramp and a Spizzirri scare: Jannik Sinner survives in Australian Open title defence amid hellish battle on Rod Laver Arena

Jannik Sinner is through to the fourth round of the Australian Open but to say his tie against the rising American Eliot Spizzirri was a test was an understatement.

Sinner battled all the elements including heat, cramp and also a 24-year-old who was giving it all he had. With the match tied at one set all, the American broke for 3-1 in the third set while Sinner was clearly struggling.

He was barely able to move and this in theory would've made people fear the worst that Sinner would be going home. The Heat Stress scale hit five leading to a suspension in play for officials to close the roof.

When the suspension finished, Sinner bounced back and was able to claim a three hour 45 minute victory. Spizzirri showed no nerves throughout the tie with Sinner and went blow for blow from the baseline with him and looked to be better placed before the heat break.

Especially given Sinner made 51 unforced errors. But he hit 56 winners with his best coming at the main moments. Spizzirri only converted six out of 16 break chances while Sinner hit eight out of 11 and the former hit only one out of six in the third set as the Italian found his way through a tough test. Next up is Luciano Darderi, his fellow Italian who earlier today saw off Karen Khachanov 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.S

"First of all, starting with him (Spizzirri), he’s an incredible player. I think he played really, really well today. I wish him only the best. I’m very sure he’s going to have a great, great season this year," said Sinner on court.

"I struggled physically a bit today, we saw this. I got lucky with the heat rule and they closed the roof. I took my time and, as time passed, I felt better and better. I’m very happy about this performance.

"Looking back, in every big tournament I’ve played, there have been some really tough matches. Hopefully this can give me something positive for the next round. Starting again with a good mentality, and then we’ll see what’s coming. I’m really, really happy. Thanks for the support — it helped me a lot today."

He also discussed the cramp that was previously alluded to and that he was pleased to avert the issues that it caused. "It started with the leg, then it went into the arm, so I was cramping a bit all over.

"But this is the sport. I know this is an area where I need to improve, which is also a positive thing, and something we try to work on every day. I have a great team behind me who push me in the right direction.

"At the same time, at the end of the day, tennis is a very mental game. I just try to stay as calm as possible. I’m here to fight, I’m here to play every point in the best possible way.

"Today we saw the outcome — even not playing at my best, I tried to do my best. With the combination of all of you guys giving me a lot of support, it meant a lot to me."

But while the heat was a problem, Sinner said that if he wants to win this tournament he has to deal with all weathers anyway. "I have a good record indoors here, so it would be great for me.

"No, but at the same time, I know if I want to go far in this tournament, I also need to play in warm and hot conditions. It’s not only for here, it’s for the rest of the season.

"But I’m looking forward to it. It’s great for me that I have at least one more match to play here. We try to do our best. Now the most important thing is recovery, and then getting ready for the next match."