- Jannik Sinner required an 11-minute medical check in his Aussie Open victory
- The world No 1 was visibly struggling with the heat against Holger Rune
- Sinner’s opponent claims he was left ‘cooking in the heat’ by the Italian
Holger Rune says he was left ‘cooking in the heat’ by Jannik Sinner, after an 11-minute break for medical treatment turned their fourth-round match in the world No1’s favour.
Having lost the first set Sinner began to look increasingly uncomfortable in the 33oC heat and headed off court to seek medical attention after losing the second set – leaving Rune to twiddle his thumbs on court.
Footage of Sinner’s medical check has since gone viral with the Italian seen shaking as he battled with the heat and was described as looking like a ‘zombie’ by former world No.1 Jim Courier during commentary of the match.
Once play resumed the Italian asserted himself, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Rune said: ‘Obviously it’s perfectly fine that you check (with the doctors). It was a very warm day today, very humid, so I was also feeling it.
‘It’s fair that he got checked. It took longer than I expected. It was around 10 minutes, maybe even more. So that was a bit brutal in the middle of the set.
‘They checked him on the court, and the umpire said he needed further checks, to make sure he was all right. Then he came back firing, so I don’t know what they did.’
The timing of medical timeouts is a thorny issue in tennis. There are allegations that some players abuse the rules to break an opponents’ rhythm and, while Rune fell sort of suggesting that, he did say: ‘I had good momentum in this moment so it was not the worst timing from his side.’
Holger Rune (pictured) says he was left ‘cooking in the heat’ during a medical timeout in his defeat against Jannik Sinner
Having lost the first set Sinner began to look increasingly uncomfortable in the 33oC heat
Sinner then received medical attention during an on-court check that ended up lasting 11 minutes
One issue with players leaving the court for treatment is that their opponents can be left high and dry – or, in this case, sticky.
‘Sitting in the heat for me cooking out there is a bit tough,’ said Rune. ‘It is what it is, just have to move on and maybe be smarter next time to wait off court or whatever.’
Sinner said he had been feeling unwell before the match, and that things were exacerbated by the heat. He was visibly shaking at times and he looked very unsteady in the second set.
‘I was not feeling really well,’ said the 23-year-old. ‘I think we saw that today I was struggling physically. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today, playing against a tough opponent but also playing against myself a little bit.
‘ I at least felt slightly better when I went back on court. I felt like the face looked a little bit better, the colour was a little bit back. The doctor gave me some medication.
Once play resumed, Sinner asserted himself, winning the Australian Open contest 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
Holte was unhappy after being left to ‘cook’ in the searing Australian heat during Sinner’s medical check
‘So that helped, for sure.’
Sinner was given another attempt to rest when the screw which was holding the net in place came loose and had to be replaced. That took 20 minutes and the players were able to leave the court.
‘At his point, 20 minutes off court, trying to get back physically, putting some cold water in my head, it was very helpful,’ he said. ‘It was big, big luck to me today.’
Sinner has now won 93.6 per cent of his matches since rising to world No1, breaking Bjorn Borg’s record for the best win percentage while holding the top spot. Despite this wobble, he remains the firm favourite to win the Australian Open.
