Net screw gets jarred loose, delaying play at Australian Open

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — The screw holding the net in place at the Australian Open's main stadium got jarred loose during defending champion

A screw came loose and caused a 20-minute delay during Jannik Sinner's fourth-round match at the Australian Open on Monday.

Sinner, the No. 1-ranked player in the world, hit one of his booming serves into the net during the fourth set of his match against Holger Rune, shaking it. That managed to inadvertently undo the metal piece that hooks into the bottom of the black webbing that separates players on a tennis court, then is rotated to screw into the blue-painted surface.

That left the net loose, so play could not continue. At least a half-dozen people went over to take a look at things and attempt to re-connect the equipment. Eventually, a worker with a red tool box was able to fix it, earning a cheer from thousands of spectators at Rod Laver Arena.

In the meantime, chair umpire Nico Helwerth sent both Sinner and Rune off to the locker room so they did not need to sit on the sideline in the afternoon heat that topped 90 degrees Fahrenheit (32 Celsius).

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you can see, we are trying to fix the net as quick as possible,” Helwerth announced to the crowd. “It's probably going to take a few minutes. Thank you for your patience.”

Each player already had taken a medical timeout during the match. Sinner was leading 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 0-1 when action was halted.

As Sinner and the 13th-seeded Rune, a 21-year-old from Denmark, walked back out on the court to return to the contest, fans applauded.

The players were then allowed to warm up for three minutes before Sinner got things started again with a serve.