After Jannik Sinner's concerning day at Australian Open, tennis insider shares his thoughts on growing Melbourne heat

The 2025 Australian Open has experienced some high temperatures, with defending champion Jannik Sinner falling victim to the heat as he was forced to call for a medical timeout in his match against Holger Rune on Monday. During the match, American tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg rued the weather in Melbourne, expressing his opinions about the heat.

On Monday, January, 20, Sinner took on Denmark's Holger Rune in the fourth round as the two battled for a spot in the quarterfinals of the Grand Slam. The match started with the World No.1 claiming the first set in dominant fashion, only for Rune to run away with the second.

In the third set, Sinner looked to be struggling with his health, and he was eventually forced to call a medical timeout, leaving the court for treatment.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter) during the match, Ben Rothenberg expressed his thoughts on the growing Melbourne heat, writing:

“As someone of similar pale gingerness to Jannik Sinner, I've been struggling more in this #AusOpen heat over the last two days than at any point before on this trip. He has to be hoping that conditions get more humane as afternoon wears on. Meantime, he's called the physio.”

After the medical timeout, Jannik Sinner eventually went on to win the match 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

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Jannik Sinner opens up about his health struggles at the Australian Open

Sinner at the 2025 Australian Open (Image Source: Getty)

Jannik Sinner’s campaign at the Australian Open got off to a strong start as the Italian disposed of Nicolas Jarry, Tristan Schoolkate, and Marcos Giron in his first three rounds.

However, during his clash against Holger Rune, the World No.1 was forced to put in significantly more effort as he battled his health issues while trying to outfox the Dane.

Opening up about his struggles during the post-match interview, Sinner revealed that he expected a tough fight, saying:

“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'm 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'm good with injuries.”

Jannik Sinner will return to the Rod Laver Arena on January 22 for his quarterfinal match, where he will encounter either eighth seed Alex de Minaur or American Alex Michelson.