Australian Open 2026: Jannik Sinner takes heat out of the equation, advances to quarterfinals

Jannik Sinner overcomes heat challenges to advance to the 2026 Australian Open quarterfinals with a straight-sets victory.

Jannik Sinner may have felt lucky to survive the Australian Open third round but he rebounded quickly in a straight-sets win Monday (January 26, 2026) over fellow Italian Luciano Darderi to reach the quarterfinals for a ninth consecutive Grand Slam event.

The two-time defending champion struggled with the extreme heat and cramping in his Saturday afternoon win over No. 85-ranked Eliot Spizzirri, and only took control after the roof was closed in the third set.

Sinner later admitted he got a bit lucky with the timing of the extreme heat policy being invoked, leading to an eight-minute break to close the roof. He was also able to refresh in a 10-minute extra cooling break between the third and fourth sets.

In an evening match in cooler conditions, he was cruising until Darderi lifted his tempo in the third set. Second-ranked Sinner missed match points in the 10th game on his opponent's serve but then clinched victory 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).

Darderi, who saved two match points on his serve, took the first two points of the tiebreaker but then had to pause for a few moments before serving because of a baby crying in the crowd at Margaret Court Arena.

He didn't win another point, with Sinner reeling off the next seven to triumph in 2 hours and nine minutes.