Luciano Darderi gave viewers a scare when his leg went into painful spasms during a live TV interview on Saturday.
The Italian tennis player had just upset 15th seed Karen Khachanov in four gruelling sets on a day in which play was stopped due to scorching heat.
Darderi was chatting to Australian Open world feed host Chris Stubbs and ex-American professional Nicholas Monroe when his face suddenly turned into a grimace as he clutched at his hamstring.
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Luciano Darderi cramps up during a live TV interview. Supplied
“Oh, you OK? These are the conditions today that we’re facing,” Stubbs said as he and Monroe grabbed Darderi in support.
“We might get back to the match just for a moment here. We’ll rejoin Jannik Sinner, and we’ll give Luciano just a moment to regain his composure. The leg. Do you want to take a moment, Luciano?
“We’ll let you take a second. Let’s get back to the commentators because we don’t want you to do this under duress. You OK? Oh, you gave us a scare there!”
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Luciano Darderi cramps up during a live TV interview. Supplied
Darderi later told Stubbs that the cramping episode felt “like a dog that bit my hamstring”.
Darderi will play compatriot Sinner in the fourth round on Monday.
Sinner later joined Stubbs and Monroe on set, and he watched the vision of Darderi.
Jannik Sinner of Italy talks with his team members. Getty
“It shows that everyone is struggling, you know, when it’s this hot and also humid,” Sinner said after surviving his own third-round scare.
Stubbs discussed the drama on Sunday on Stan Sport’s Grand Slam Daily with Jelena Dokic.
“Some players actually like playing in the heat and others really have issues,” Dokic said.
Chris Stubbs and Jelena Dokic. Stan
“Players sometimes lose – and we know this, it’s been measured – 3-4 litres of fluid an hour in a match, and that’s really hard to replace.
“You can be as fit as you want and practice in really hot conditions, but if your body, once you get into matches and you expend that nervous energy and when all of that adrenaline hits, sometimes there’s nothing you can do.”