AUSTRALIAN OPEN

January 24, 2026

Eliot Spizzirri

Press Conference

J. SINNER/E. Spizzirri

4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for attending the press conference for Eliot Spizzirri. Eliot, obviously not the result you wanted today, but an incredible three rounds that you have endured. Can you talk us through your match today in your own words.

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: Yeah, I mean, it was a good tournament for me. My first time getting directly into a Grand Slam, so my first time having weeks to prepare for three-out-of-five sets and had a preseason to do it.

So I think the thing I'm most happy with is the fact that my body held up for two grueling matches and then this one as well, so three.

But, yeah, today was tough. You know, there was definitely some additional nerves going out on a court like that against Jannik, and first time for me on one of the bigger stages in the sport.

I thought I handled him well. I was kind of happy with the way that I was executing the game plan and committing to what I wanted to do, but at the same time, you know, I knew that he was going to adjust. There were some moments in the match I thought I could have handled better, and yeah, you kind of learn from those experiences. Over time, hopefully I'll get better at those and get another shot.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. I want to ask you about that third set. We've seen Sinner in a couple of matches over the past year where it's one set all and maybe he's down in the third and struggling physically a little bit, and he always seems to find a way to win them. I'm wondering, from your side, is there something psychologically challenging to be on the other side of that that is hard to appreciate unless you're actually on the court?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: Yeah, absolutely. It's actually a really good question. I mean, it's tough when someone is maybe visibly cramping or even looks like they could be injured a little bit, because their ball speed usually goes down a little bit. His ball speed went down. His serve speed went down.

So it kind of almost throws the rhythm of the match off a little bit. He starts taking more time, as he should, obviously.

For me, it was kind of tough to stay so aggressive, because I was using his pace pretty well, I thought. When he reduced his ball speed, it was challenging for me to stay aggressive and keep moving around as much as I wanted to.

Then again, he's obviously experienced in these moments when cramps -- I don't know 100% that it was cramps. I think it probably was, but when cramps come up, you know, he's done this before. He served, I thought, pretty well, very well, to stay in that third set.

Then, yeah, I think for me I had to do a better job of staying focused and keeping my energy high and maybe grunting more and being a little bit more physical with my shots, because he wasn't being, you know, as physical, obviously conserving energy.

It is really challenging to kind of make sure you just focus on your side of the court and keep playing the same game. But yeah, something I'll, again, learn from, and hopefully I do better next time.

Q. From the outside looking in, you had him out on his feet. He was sort of, like, wobbling like a boxer. Then the heat rule gets called. I mean, what was going through your head? Did you feel like he got sort of saved by the little meter on the side there? Was it hard to gather yourself and keep yourself focused on the match when you knew he was getting a lifeline?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: Yeah, I don't know if he got saved by it. You know, I smiled a little bit when the heat rule went into effect, just because it was kind of funny timing as I went up 3-1, but at the same time, you know, the game at 2-1 in the third set was when the heat, when it hit, I think it's 5.0, which means that the heat rule is in effect.

So whenever that game was over, whether I broke or whether he held, we were going to close the roof. It was just funny that right when I broke and he was wobbling, that it happened to happen that way. But at the same time, that's the rules of the game, and, you know, you got to live with it.

But yeah, you know, if I had won that third set, we were going to have a ten-minute break anyways because of how hot it was, even if the roof didn't close. So who knows?

We've seen him do this before where there's an extended break, and he gathers himself and comes out and figures it out. I think he did it against maybe Holger Rune one time, if I'm not mistaken, at this tournament.

Yeah, I wouldn't say, like, he got saved by it. He's too good of a player to say that, but at the same time, you know, it was, you know, challenging timing, and that's just the nature of the sport.

Q. He did say he got lucky, so there's that.

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: You could say that. I don't know (smiling). You could say it's lucky, but he's also very experienced and handled it, you know, pretty well, I would say.

Q. Obviously you knew the Holger Rune example, so obviously a couple of times he struggled last year in heat. When you saw what the forecast was for today and you were the second day match, did it increase your confidence and possibilities that this could be something that could tilt things a bit more towards you? How did that actually play out in terms of how the match went, do you think? And especially at the start, before the rule kicked in, how much do you feel the heat was sort of a tailwind for you?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: I don't know if it increased my confidence going in. I wasn't thinking too much about his side of the court, per se. For me, I pride myself on my fitness and my physicality and the work I put in in the gym.

When I saw how hot it was, I was, you know, not disappointed at that or not, like, Shoot, this is unlucky that I have to play on this day. I tried to relish that and look at it more as an opportunity to showcase my physicality and see if I could outlast him.

Yeah, you know, he's been in numerous grueling matches in his career, so I don't think it's safe or fair for me to say that when I saw that it was going to be this hot, I was, like, Okay, I got him today. It was, like, Let's go out here and just see how it goes.

Yeah, I thought that it was an opportunity to showcase my physicality.

Q. I just wondered what sort of steps you took to prepare for playing in this heat, whether that was eating or drinking or tension of your racquet, that kind of thing?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: Yeah, I actually never change tension really, but for today, because it was such a drastic change from playing in 60s, 70s, low 80s to 100, I had a couple of racquets strung a couple of pounds heavier. I ended up not using them, because I felt comfortable with the tension that, you know, I found in the warmup, which is my normal tension. So I didn't go up in tension.

I just treat it like any other match, though. Hydrate as well as I can, fuel as much as I can, and, you know, recover and make sure you get the proper rest so that when I get out there, if it happens to be a four-, five-hour match, I'm there for the duration.

Q. Were you as totally fine as you looked out there at the point that the roof came over? You seemed like you were completely fine, ready to go another three hours if you needed to. Was there any bluffing involved there, or were you completely fine physical?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: No, I felt good, yeah. Yeah (smiling). I was talking to a couple of people in the locker room that I did my preseason with, and this heat's nothing compared to what we deal with in Florida and what I went and trained in in Austin, even New York in the summers with the humidity.

It's pretty dry heat here, so this -- I played a match in China last year. I think it was 123 on-court temp. I don't think it was even ballpark close to that today. So, yeah, I felt pretty fresh, to be honest, and felt like I could have gone a lot longer.

Q. Do you think that players are prone to cramping, or is it something that you can actually train out of your system some?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: I think it's probably genetic a little bit. We have guys -- you know, when I was at Texas, we had guys that I'd see them put in the hard yards in the gym. I think it was they were saltier sweaters and sweat way more than the other guys, so they would be prone to cramping.

Maybe it's something where you've got to figure out the right mix of electrolytes or magnesium, potassium, all that stuff. You know, it was actually really tough for us in college trying to figure out some of the cramping issues for guys on our team. I'm pretty up to speed with the cramping.

But, you know, I guess seeing a guy like Jannik Sinner dealing with some cramping issues tells you enough. It's not like that guy is not doing everything possible to make sure he doesn't cramp. So I think it is a little bit genetic and experience, too. Then you kind of work with it.

I'm sure he'll figure it out. Who knows? Anyone can cramp on any given day in these conditions.

Q. Did you feel like when it was closed that it was actually needed at the time? You have spoken about other conditions, other tournaments. Did you feel like, one, was it a surprise, and two, did the tournament need to do it at that point?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: I mean, the rules are the rules. I obviously don't have a say in what the rules are. I was just saying that I've played in way worse conditions. I've trained in way worse conditions. In college we played in brutal conditions at times in Austin.

You know, maybe that's just a good thing to have under my belt that I've played and trained in those conditions, but at the same time, I'm not going to lie and say that I didn't feel like it wasn't crazy hot. That's just comparative to what I've trained in and been in before.

I think, you know, for the most part, I would say players have played in pretty brutal conditions, but at the same time, this rule is protection for us, I guess. I think it will hopefully promote guys to stay healthier for a longer period of time throughout the season, because playing these matches in this heat for an extended period of time over and over, day after day, is really tough on the body.

I'm not going to say it's a bad rule. I think it's probably a great rule, but yeah, I don't think today -- today did not feel, you know, like the hottest day that I've played in, for sure.

Q. On a tennis level, how do you feel about your game? Going toe-to-toe with the two-time defending champion, Sinner, for four sets out there, how encouraging is that for you as a sign of what you can be at this level?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: Yeah, definitely encouraging. I never played, you know, especially in a formal match, a player of his caliber. To kind of feel out my game and go toe-to-toe with him, yeah, it felt good. It definitely gives me some confidence to keep going. I have some areas that I definitely need to work on, I think, and maybe that were a little bit exposed. I knew that coming in.

He's one of the best players in the world, so he's going to kind of make you feel where your weaknesses are more than other guys and exploit them. Yeah, I definitely felt like I'll hopefully learn a lot from this match but also take some confidence from it.

Q. I was just wondering whether you see any chances being selected to play for the Team USA in Davis Cup against Hungary, or it's not even on the table?

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: I'm not entirely sure yet. Yeah, I think they announced the team.

Q. It's only four players.

ELIOT SPIZZIRRI: Well, as of right now Ethan Quinn -- yeah, Ethan Quinn and Emilio Nava are on the team. Potentially an alternate, but yeah, that's the team set in stone. Then the doubles guys, I think it's Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek. So the answer is, no, I'm not playing Davis Cup (laughter).