Cahill, about the controversy of Sinner and the heat: "We knew they were going to close the roof"

The media is still buzzing about what happened on Saturday in Jannik Sinner's third-round match at the 2026 Australian Open. The Italian was on the brink, and only the extreme heat policy saved him from a truly sticky situation against Spizzirri. One of his coaches, Australian Darren Cahill, revealed some very interesting aspects of the incident.

There has been much talk about the extreme situation that Jannik Sinner had to face against Eliot Spizzirri last Saturday at the 2026 Australian Open. Things unfolded in such a way that it fueled conspiracy theories, as the match was stopped to close the retractable roof just when the Italian could barely move due to severe cramps. Darren Cahill steps in to provide a comprehensive explanation of what happened behind the scenes.

Sinner continued to suffer cramps after the roof closed

"It's clear that Jannik was very lucky with the timing of the roof closure. Everyone on the team knew that, at some point, the match would be paused to deploy the retractable roof. Therefore, our goal was for him to hold on as best as he could until the end of the third set. It was clear that there, regardless of whether the roof closed or not, there would be a ten-minute break. I have been working with him for a long time, and what he did the other day was one of the most impressive performances I have seen, in terms of self-management," commented the Australian.

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Sinner accepted the situation, remained calm, and managed to control his issues, although he suffered even more than what was visible, according to Cahill. "When he returned to the court after the roof closed, he still had cramps all over his body, and even so, he managed to pull through the match. We are incredibly proud of him for the wonderful job he did in such a critical situation," Darren asserted, giving much credit to Spizzirri.

The Australian Open organizers offered Sinner to play at Rod Laver Arena against Darderi

"Before the match, I told Jannik that he had to be very serious and focused. We approached the match as if we were facing a top-10 opponent because I have been following this guy for a while, and his progress is impressive. I believe he has a great future ahead," Darren Cahill concluded about Spizzirri, before revealing that the 2026 Australian Open organizers offered Sinner the chance to play against Darderi at Rod Laver Arena.

However, the Italian decided to decline the offer because he recovered well from what happened and was content to play at Margaret Court Arena. "When it was known that Mensik would not play, they offered Jannik to switch to the last session at Rod Laver Arena, but he preferred not to change anything because he knew the match would not start before 6 p.m. He has no problem playing in this stadium," explained Darren Cahill, who is very involved in his work with Jannik Sinner.

Darren Cahill on Jannik Sinner recovery and reasons on why he plays Margaret Court Arena. pic.twitter.com/CLegPF5v4x

— asud (@asud683385) January 26, 2026

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Cahill, sobre la polémica de Sinner y el calor: "Sabíamos que iban a cerrar el techo"