VIDEO. “I think you could see that I wasn't feeling well”: Jannik Sinner's impressive tremors during his victory against Holger Rune

Sinner a été pris de tremblements. MAXPPP

Victime de la fournaise australienne, Jannik Sinner a été pris d'impressionnants tremblements pendant son huitième de finale à l'Open d'Australie contre Holger Rune, finalement remporté 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, lundi 20 janvier. 

Jannik Sinner joins his compatriot Nicola Pietrangeli in the history books as the only Italian player to have reached the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam ten times. Sinner, however, appeared to suffer from the heat (over 30 degrees Celsius) and both players took turns taking a medical timeout in the third set.

“I think you could see that I wasn't feeling well (…) I felt a bit dizzy at certain moments”, admitted the Italian after the match.

The fourth set was then interrupted for about twenty minutes at 1-0 for Rune, the time to repair the net after a serve from Sinner had torn off the hoop fixing it to the ground. “I was lucky” , he smiled.

Having “20 minutes off the court (the time it took to repair the net, editor's note), to try to recover physically, to put cold water on my head, it was very beneficial. I was very, very lucky” , said the Italian, who called a medical timeout and left the court with a scarlet face while leading 3-2 in the third set.

De Minaur or Michelsen in the next round

The defending champion will face in the next round the last Australian in the men's draw Alex De Minaur (8th) or the American Alex Michelsen (42nd), whose round of 16 is scheduled for the evening in Melbourne.

A double Grand Slam winner (Australian Open and US Open 2024), Sinner would become the most successful Italian in the major tournaments if he wins in Melbourne. He currently shares his record with Pietrangeli, winner of Roland-Garros in 1959 and 1960.

The world No. 1, who now leads 3-2 in his confrontations with Rune, joined his rivals Alexander Zverev (2nd), Carlos Alcaraz (3rd) and Novak Djokovic (7th) in the quarter-finals on Monday. The Spaniard and the Serb will face each other in the quarter-finals.