Will the experience with Federer help Spizzirri against Sinner at the Australian Open? | ATP Tour

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Will the experience with Federer help Spizzirri against Sinner at the Australian Open?

ATPtour.com talks to Spizzirri and his coaches ahead of his biggest match yet

January 23, 2026

Saturday will be Eliot Spizzirri’s first day at the Australian Open.

The first game of the third round of the capital. First clash against a Top-10 player. It’s time to start competing inside the Rod Laver Arena.

But first and foremost this will be his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting against two-time defending champion Jannik Sinner.

“It would be amazing,” Spizzirri said in his press conference before Sinner advanced. “To face one of the best players in the world and one of the toughest challengers in our sport. I would be happy to be there and do my best.”

This will be something new for Americans, especially considering the stakes. But Spizzirri is not used to such a big stage.

For most of her youth, Spizzirri would travel from Connecticut to New York three or four times a week to train at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, home of the US Open. He trained indoors there, but Arthur Ashe Stadium, the world’s largest tennis court, always came up.

“You feel like an ant in that place, because there are so many seats and so many people watching,” Spizzirri told ATPTour.com. “I’ve only been to Ashe’s and it’s empty. It would be great to be at that place in Laver if that’s the case. I’ve played on big courts and I hope they’ve prepared me for a time like this.”

The 24-year-old, a former college star at the University of Texas, played competitively at Louis Armstrong Stadium, the second venue at the US Open. That court has a capacity close to the 15,000-strong Rod Laver Arena. However, it will be more crowded and electric when Sinner is on the other side of the net.

“I’m just trying to enjoy my time on those courts,” said Spizzirri. “It’s what you work for, train for and live for.”

Although training is very different from the game, Spizzirri has faced the pressure within the big area. As a junior in 2019, he trained with Roger Federer inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Patrick Hirscht, Spizzirri’s coach since he was 12 and still works with him at the Solaris Racquet Club in Connecticut when he was home, remembers that time well.

“The thing I remember the most about it was the sheer size when you first walk in and you start hitting and you’re like, ‘Wow’. You feel small in there,” Hirscht said. “But also that after five or six minutes, you don’t even notice anymore. The second thing was how inviting and familiar Roger was and how comfortable he was with Eliot and he didn’t look like a star. I thought that was really cool and it took the pressure off being out there. It felt like, ‘Hey, let’s hit’. It was fun, it was special.”

Roger Federer and Eliot Spizzirri ” style=”width:100%;” src=”

The difference is that Sinner, unlike Federer, will want to do everything in his power to chase Spizzirri off the court as quickly as possible.

“We started having a few conversations about it. I think the first thing is to enjoy it, because it’s cool and when you’re a kid, you dream about these times,” Hirscht said. “Once you find them and get into it, I think the first obstacle is to not forget that you’ve always wanted it, it’s always something to look forward to. Be happy about it, because it’s very easy to be nervous and overwhelmed by something like that, which I’m sure will still be a little bit because everyone would be like that.”

“But be happy about it, try to enjoy it and try to focus on what we are trying to do in the existing court because whoever is abroad, try to do what we are trying to do better and stop it.”

Spizzirri is in Melbourne with his traveling coach, Christopher Williams, who explained that although the World No.

“There’s always an awareness of our opponents’ style of play and their tendencies, but our preparation is often very ‘Eliot focused’,” Williams said. “We know what we do well and when we do it we compete to win at a high level. With a game like the third round here, I’m looking at the stage and making sure we’re comfortable in Rod Laver’s position so we can be at our best.”

Sinner said of Spizzirri: “Yeah, I’ve watched him play in the last few games he’s played. A very aggressive, talented player. So let’s see what’s coming.”

Spizzirri is known by his colleagues as a tough guy who wants to fight on the court. The number 71 player in the PIF ATP Live Rankings showed that in his second-round match against Wu Yibing, with their encounter lasting five sets. He will hope to fight another big battle with Soni.

“That’s all I can do. There’s not much you can do other than go out and give it your best effort,” said Spizzirri. “It’s going to be a big test to see where my game is and hit it really well. Win or lose, we’ll learn from it, go back to the drawing board and try to get better.”