Jannik Sinner lined up a forehand, drilled it down the line, and collapsed to the court on his back, giving himself time to process how he had come back from two sets down to win his first Grand Slam championship.
Sinner, 22, won the Australian Open after defeating Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 on Sunday.
“I like to dance in the pressure storm,” he said of his supposedly calm demeanor in the most difficult situations. “I like it, because that’s where most of the time I bring out my best tennis.”
It was his third consecutive win against a top five player, after his quarterfinal triumph over Andrey Rublev and his semifinal shock of No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who had previously dominated the event. Only Djokovic and Roger Federer have done it before in a major on hard courts.
So he’s in excellent company.
Sinner is the first Italian to win the Australian Open, as well as the youngest winner of a men’s final since Djokovic’s maiden Grand Slam championship in 2008.
With Carlos Alcaraz winning Wimbledon last year and Sinner winning the season’s first major, a generation transition is underway.
“I still have to process it, because … beating Novak in the semis and then today Daniil in the final, they are tough players to beat,” Sinner was quoted as saying. “It’s a fantastic time for me and my team. However, we are also aware that we must improve if we are to have another opportunity to hold a large trophy.
So he’s in excellent company.
Sinner is the first Italian to win the Australian Open, as well as the youngest winner of a men’s final since Djokovic’s maiden Grand Slam championship in 2008.
With Carlos Alcaraz winning Wimbledon last year and Sinner winning the season’s first major, a generation transition is underway.
“I still have to process it, because … beating Novak in the semis and then today Daniil in the final, they are tough players to beat,” Sinner was quoted as saying. “It’s a fantastic time for me and my team. However, we are also aware that we must improve if we are to have another opportunity to hold a large trophy.
It wasn’t until a break in the sixth game of the fifth set that he truly secured his first Grand Slam title.
Medvedev had to come back from two sets down in two of his five-set matches: a second-round win over Emil Ruusuvuori at nearly 4 a.m., and a 4-hour, 18-minute semifinal win over No. 6 Alexander Zverev. Nobody had done that on their way to the Australian Open final since Pete Sampras in 1995.
Against Sinner, he began like a man looking to score points quickly.
Standing closer to the baseline to receive serves and visiting the net more frequently than usual, he broke in the third game and won the first set in 36 minutes.
He had two more service breaks in the fourth and sixth games of the second set, but was broken himself at 5-1 while attempting to serve it out. He was successful on his next attempt.
The third set was played on serve until the tenth game, when Medvedev was one point away from leveling at 5-5 before three forehand errors handed Sinner the set and momentum.
He won the fourth set with a service break in the tenth game, recovering quickly to win three points after mishitting a forehand from so far away that the Rod Laver Arena crowd was stunned.
As a result, the tournament tied a Grand Slam Open era record set at the 1983 U.S. Open, with the 35th match going to five sets.
Sinner had three breakpoints in the sixth game of the fifth set against a fatigued Medvedev. He missed his first chance but converted his second, a forehand winner, for a 4-2 lead. From there, he did not give Medvedev another chance.
Medvedev had faced Djokovic or Rafael Nadal in each of his previous five major finals. He defeated Djokovic to win the 2021 U.S. Open, but then lost all of his subsequent matches.
The 27-year-old Russian has been saying through the tournament that he has more stamina than he used to, and is mentally stronger in the tough five-setters. He certainly showed incredible endurance but came up just short — again.
Medvedev won his first six career meetings with Sinner, but has now lost four in a row — including three finals.
“I want to congratulate Jannik … you showed it again why you deserve it,” Medvedev said. “Probably that’s not your last Grand Slam, but I hope I can try to get the next one if you play in the final.”
Medvedev also sent a message to his family and supporters.
“Unfortunately I couldn’t make it today, but I’m going to try to make it work next time for you,” he said. “It always hurts to lose in the final, but probably being in the final is better than losing before.”
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