Tennis rule-makers have been urged to rethink an “exploitable” rule amidst Jannik Sinner’s tight clash with Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open.
For the second match in a row, Sinner was struggling physically as he sought a record-extending 33rd straight victory at Masters 1000 level.
While the 24-year-old comfortably saw off Andrey Rublev in the quarter-finals, Medvedev was a much tougher nut to crack on Friday night.
Indeed, in the third set, when Sinner was a break up at 3-2, the Italian received a medical timeout. The Russian then remonstrated with chair umpire Aurelie Tourte, arguing that his opponent should not receive treatment for what appeared to be cramps.
Under ATP Rules, players are not allowed treatment for cramping as it is not deemed to be an injury, rather it is a conditioning issue. Now, tennis content creator Gill Gross has weighed in on the matter.
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After breaking Medvedev’s serve in a thrilling Italian Open semi-final encounter, the physio was seen rubbing both of Sinner’s quads, while he drank pickle juice – which is known to help with cramps.
A similar situation played out at the Australian Open between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev earlier this year in their semi-final.
The former received treatment in the third set when it seemed he was cramping, something Zverev took umbrage with in his five-set defeat.
Now that this has happened again, Gross believes this ATP rule should be scrapped as it is so hard to know deem what is and isn’t cramping.
While he understood Medvedev’s protests, it’s a loophole that players continue to exploit as the officials are left in a difficult judgement situation.
Gross said on his YouTube channel, “Daniil was upset because he was like, ‘Jannik is cramping,’ but as we discussed when Alcaraz had a similar situation against Zverev in the Australian Open semi-final, it is an entirely unenforceable rule.
“It will never be enforced; it has never been enforced. There is so much leeway for Jannik to say, ‘My leg is bothering me’. It bothered him in the last match, too.
“Whether or not he is cramping… to me, they have to do away with that rule. It’s impossible to enforce it and there’s so much speculation involved trying to assess something like that. If I am in Daniil’s shoes, I am thinking the same thing.”
Some tennis fans argued that this was an injury rather than cramp. Whether or not that is the case, the match will resume on Saturday afternoon with Sinner 4-2 up, but Medvedev has game point on his serve to make it 4-3.
GO DEEPER: Daniil Medvedev issues a complaint about Jannik Sinner in Rome