Melbourne [Australia], January 20 : Top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner moved into the Australian Open quarterfinals following a hard-fought win over Holger Rune in the fourth round match on Sunday, during which he struggled with his fitness.
The world number one had skipped practice before the match and taken consultation from the tournament doctor ahead of the match, but managed to secure a win by 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Struggling in Melbourne's 32-degree heat, Sinner called for a medical timeout during which he received a pulse check in the middle of third set. At the previous change of ends, after a 10-minute game during which he saved three break points, Sinner sat on a bench, with an ice towel on his face with his right hand twitching uncontrollably.
The Italian looked physically drained from the treatment, but as the set progressed, he started to move better. Also, thanks to Rune's 16 unforced errors, Sinner secured the third set and broke early in the fourth set to reach the quarterfinals of the competition for the third time.
Following the match as quoted by ATP's official website, Sinner said, "I think we saw that today I was struggling physically. Came here as late as possible. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today. You know, playing against a tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit."
"When I am not feeling well on court, sometimes I tend to walk a little bit on the left. But, no, injury-wise I have nothing. Just health-wise a little bit struggling, but I am good with injuries."
"Of course, the time of the court with me and the doctor, we talked a little bit. It helped me today, and it also shows that this tournament has great organisation," Sinner concluded.
Sinner secured 83 per cent of first-serve points and hit 35 winners and 35 unforced errors as compared to Rune's 31 winners and 54 unforced errors.
Sinner record against Rune improved to three wins and two losses.
Also, on the other hand, Ben Shelton secured a berth in Australian Open quarters as well following Gael Monfils' retirement in the match due to an injury.
The 22-year-old Shelton was leading by 7-6(3), 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 1-0 in a two hour, 56-minute battle, but Monfils called the match as the physical demands of running started to take a toll on his body and hindered his movement.
Speaking after the match, Shelton said, "Obviously he (Monfils) has played a lot of long matches, so I wanted to make it as physical as possible. There is a lot of things he does unbelievably well, counter-punching, making you feel uncomfortable on the court, getting to the net. So, being able to find that balance was tricky because he was serving so well."
"Gael is someone I have watched since a little kid, I always say he has the greatest highlight tape of all time, and you saw some of that tonight. At 38 years old, I hope I am still walking without crutches... To push me the way he did today and entertain everyone in New Zealand and Australia in the way he has the last couple of weeks is so impressive."
"I hope to be able to create some memories like that with my family watching on at that age, because it is really special and unheard of in any other sport," he concluded.
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