Eliot Spizzirri showed his class during a tense moment in his third-round clash with Jannik Sinner. The American came from a break down to take the first set 6-4, ending Sinner's run of 16 straight sets won at the Australian Open. Sinner then regrouped after going an early break down in set two, but he received a time violation after winning an incredible point at 1-1 40-15.

The No. 2 seed wasn't happy, he approached umpire Fergus Murphy while boos rang out, and explained that he couldn't serve because fans in the crowd were speaking. "They were speaking up there and I had to wait. Do you think I should take a time violation?" Sinner asked.

Spizzirri then joined them at the umpire's chair and confessed that he hadn't even been ready to receive because of the chatty spectators, and asked for Sinner's time violation to be taken away. The former college tennis player was applauded for his sporting gesture.

"He has just walked up there and said I wasn't ready, forget about the time violation," Emma Raducanu's former coach, Mark Petchey, said on commentary.

Brad Stine replied: "You've gotta love that, don't you? Sportsmanship." Meanwhile, Colin Fleming branded the time violation "unnecessary".

Sinner and Spizzirri had just played a marathon rally, racing to the net and trading dropshots before the Italian won the point and pumped his fist in the air. The fans had yet to settle down when Sinner tried to serve.

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Colin Fleming added: "I like Fergus Murphy a lot. I thought that was unnecessary after that last point. Didn't need to give a time violation there."

Sinner went on to hold, and then broke to lead 3-1. But he was under pressure on serve again, and one fan yelled out: "Come on Eliot, knock out Sinner, send him home for dinner."

But the four-time Major winner ignored them and took the second set 6-3, saving two break points while trying to close it out.

Sinner had been uncharacteristically vocal early in the set. While serving at 1-1, the Italian shouted "let's go" when he won the second point of the game. But that, coupled with the time violation, seemed to get him going, and he's now levelled the score at one set apiece.