MELBOURNE: Jannik Sinner was staring at breakpoint early in the third set of his Australian Open fourth-round contest. The clash of young guns – Sinner versus Holger Rune – was threatening to change courses.
In hot, humid conditions, Rune, the 21-year-old 13th-seed, had weighed in emphatically, splitting sets and the two games played in the third set. The Rod Laver Arena was on the edge.
Sinner, the defending champion, looked out for the count, his legs were slow and he was gasping for air while Rune appeared to have more miles on his wheels than he had exhausted in the first two-hours of the contest.
It all finally came to be in a classic 37-shot rally at 30-40 in the third game of the third set that was a combination of audacious shot-making and sticky reserves, they pulled each other around the court, shifting from defence to offence like it was notes on a keyboard, while bleeding every bit of reserve. Then just when it looked like the Italian had nothing more to give he plucked the ball out of the early evening air and drilled a cross court winner.
The chair umpire called deuce and both men doubled over. After what seemed like an eternity, Rune looked across the net to see where his opponent was.
In Sinner’s courtside box Darren Cahill was on his feet raising his fist in a salute for the point of the tournament. The defending champion was a long way from home, but he had shown the first signs of fight in almost an hour.
Sinner, who skipped practice before Monday’s 2 pm clash had consulted the tournament doctor before stepping on court, staged a stirring physical recovery to advance to the quarterfinals, seeing off Rune 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
It’s hard to pinpoint that moment as the turnaround, but fair to say it was where it started.
At the previous change of ends, following a draining 10-minute game in which he saved three break points, the Italian sat on his courtside seat holding an ice towel to his face. His right hand shook uncontrollably.
Sinner, struggling in Melbourne’s 32 degree heat, called a medical timeout –the tournament doctor took his pulse – and he left the court for a total of 11-plus minutes. A couple of games later when the Italian was serving for a 2-1 lead (sets) Rune put up his hand for a medical timeout, getting the physio to look at him.
“I had a little check-up before going on the court,” Sinner said, adding, “it was a bit helpful. I felt slightly better when I went back on court. I felt like the face looked a little bit better, the color was a little bit back. So that helped, for sure. It’s tough conditions.
The 23-year-old looked like he was carrying an injury, leaning to his left as he dragged himself around the court.
“When I’m not feeling well on the court, I tend to walk a little bit on the left,” he explained. “But, no, injury-wise, I have nothing. Just health-wise, I’m struggling a little bit.”
The fourth set was as much about the top-seed’s recovery — which was aided by a break when a thunderous first serve in Sinner’s first service game of the fourth set broke a metal ring that anchored the bottom of the net to the court. The match was delayed by 21-minutes as technicians worked to fasten the net, both players headed off court for respite from the heat.
When they returned, the world no.1 was quick on the accelerator.