United States’ star Eliot Spizziri on Saturday, January 24, responded with class to Jannik Sinner’s time violation drama at the Australian Open, even though the latter managed to eke out a win despite losing the first set, to move into the fourth round of the Slam.
Sinner’s frustration was evident during his third-round Australian Open match against Spizzirri, as the chair umpire issued him a time-violation warning that sparked a brief exchange.
In the aftermath, Spizzirri rose to the moment with a fine display of sportsmanship. He stunned Sinner to take the first set and was on the verge of breaking Sinner early on in the second.
The defending champion was hit with a time-violation warning for taking too long to serve. Frustrated, Sinner argued
that noise from the crowd had caused the delay, but the chair umpire stood firm and upheld the decision.
Spizzirri asked the umpire to rescind the time-violation warning, explaining that he himself wasn’t ready to receive Sinner’s serve.
Watch the video here:
Sinner is frustrated because he’s losing, gets a time violation and starts complaining to the ref
His true colours show when he’s losing. He’s got the face of a sociopath, pretending to applaud Spizzirri’s fair play. Doesn’t mean any of it pic.twitter.com/tW9Gs9LNo6
— Corvath Draemir (@Archaicmind3000) January 24, 2026
Sinner was broken thrice in the opening set and six times overall, but still battled through to a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win on Rod Laver Arena after a gruelling 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Sinner’s reward is a next-round clash with fellow Italian and 22nd seed Luciano Darderi. With temperatures forecast to touch 40°C, it was far from the demolition many expected against the world No. 85, as Sinner struggled to adjust to the brutal conditions.
Draping himself in ice towels during the changeovers, Sinner suffered a fright in the third set with severe cramp that needed treatment.
Hobbling, Sinner was only saved when play was halted because of the extreme heat and the stadium roof closed.
