Australian Open suspends play as Jannik Sinner among players to suffer in extreme heat

Defending champion Jannik Sinner has been afforded possible salvation by the Australian Open heat protocols, after the Rod Laver Arena roof was closed while the Italian was physically struggling and down a break in the third set against American world No 85 Eliot Spizzirri.

Extreme heat in Melbourne drove temperatures towards 40C on Saturday afternoon and play was suspended on outer courts until 5.30pm at the earliest.

The Australian Open’s heat stress scale triggered a suspension at around 2.30pm, just as Sinner was beginning to severely cramp during his third round match against Spizzirri. Play on outside courts was paused, and arena roofs were closed.

When the players returned after a break of approximately 10 minutes, Sinner immediately broke back and looked far more like the athlete that has won the past two men’s singles titles at Melbourne Park.

The Australian Open issued a statement on social media at 2.36pm.

“The AO Heat Stress Scale is above 5.0,” it said. “Play is suspended for all matches and practice on outside courts. The roofs on RLA [Rod Laver Arena], MCA [Margaret Court Arena] and JCA [John Cain Arena] will close and remain closed for the remainder of the match.

“If onsite, please seek shade and apply cooling strategies.”

The scale is based on radiant heat, humidity, air temperature and wind speed. When a level 4 is reached, a 10-minute break between sets, once per match, is introduced. When the scale reaches 5, the roof is closed or – if a match is on an outer court – play is suspended.

Sinner had already looked off his game before he began cramping, and dropped the first set against Spizzirri. The Italian was applying multiple ice packs during changeovers and using a personal air conditioner while seated.

During his fourth-round match at last year’s tournament, Sinner appeared to suffer from heat exhaustion, but still managed to beat the Holger Rune in four sets.

Earlier, defending women’s singles champion Madison Keys brushed past Karolina Plíšková 6-3, 6-3 in just 75 minutes to book a round of 16 clash against Jessica Pegula. The American said although she was ready for the heat, she gave herself a “pat on the back” for navigating a match against the former world No 1 with the minimum of fuss.

“I was excited for the heat today. Being a Floridian, I was ready for it,” Keys said. “Overall, I’m feeling really good and happy to have some clean matches.”

Anticipating heat delays, officials brought forward the start of play by 30 minutes on Saturday. The Bureau of Meteorology forecast was for a top of 40C at 5pm, with the mercury rising rapidly in the early afternoon. The temperature was tipped to be 38C as late as 8pm.

Just after midday, prior to Sinner’s third round match against Spizzirri, the temperature was 32C. But by 1pm the temperature was climbing, and the heat stress scale had reached 3.2. An hour later it had already exceeded 4, triggering a 10-minute break between the third and fourth sets, before it passed 5 around 30 minutes later.

Alex De Minaur, following his victory over Frances Tiafoe on Friday night, said the heat “is going to be a lot”.

“You’ve got to make sure that you hydrate, you eat well, you recover well, make sure [you prepare] everything prior to the match, and as the match is going on, ice towels from the very first game,” he said.

“Make sure you stay in the shade as much as you can, and, yeah, get ready for feeling uncomfortable. But sometimes that’s part of tennis and is one of the factors that play into this beautiful game that we have.”

Officials are expecting crowds to be down on the middle Saturday – traditionally one of the tournament’s busiest days – due to the heat. As temperatures rose on Saturday afternoon, the water misters and free sunscreen were proving popular.

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