Jannik Sinner brushed aside concerns about his ability to withstand the heat and advanced to his fourth Australian Open quarter-final with a 6-1, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2) victory over fellow Italian Luciano Daldelli.

Temperatures soared to 33 degrees Celsius (91 degrees Fahrenheit) during the night’s match at Margaret Court Arena, with all eyes on the defending champion, who suffered dramatic cramps in the third round of his match against Elliott Spizzilli on a scorching day.

But there were no signs of trouble on Monday, with Sinner going all out from start to finish against 22nd-seeded Daldelli, limiting his court time to a comfortable 2 hours and 9 minutes.

“First of all, it was very, very difficult. We are very good friends off the court.

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“I was very tired (in the third set), so I’m very happy that I was able to finish it in three sets.”

While the unseeded Spizzilli scared Sinner with his tenacity and firepower, Argentine-born Daldelli made the champion’s job much easier by holding him back in the first two sets.

Sinner took a 5-0 lead in the first inning, and Dardelli, making his first appearance in the last 16 of a Grand Slam, eventually held serve.

Sinner responded with a serve to Love and a monster crosscourt forehand that kissed the sideline for her 12th winner, closing out the set in 27 minutes.

Struggling to stay in touch, Daldelli completely lost touch in the third game, slamming his racket onto the court as he hit a loose backhand well over the baseline.

He hit a forehand wide and was broken on the next point, then received a code of conduct warning for slamming a tennis ball high into the crowd.

Although he was able to hang on and hold serve several times, Daldelli committed two consecutive double faults to take the second set, forcing him to crouch in his chair to have his problematic left thigh examined by a trainer.

However, Daldelli dug deep to make his game in the third set and gradually invaded by attacking Sinner’s forehand.

Sinner faced four break points at 4-4, but saved them all and returned the pressure on Dardelli’s serve. Daldelli saved two match points to the delight of the Center Court crowd, but it was a short-lived hiatus as Sinner took a 6-2 lead in the tiebreak and sealed the match with an extra-base hit from Daldelli.

Reuters