Jannik Sinner is Australian Open champion – 01/28/2024 – Sport

The first Australian Open final without any member of the so-called Big 3 since 2005 was a great game. If Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic weren’t on the court, the audience at Rod Laver Arena saw a turnaround that gave Jannik Sinner his first title in the Grand Slam series – which brings together the four biggest tennis tournaments.

The 22-year-old Italian reacted after a bad start and defeated Russian Daniil Medvedev, 27, by 3 sets to 2, partials of 3/6, 3/6, 6/4, 6/4 and 6/3. It took 3h44 until the number four in the world overthrew the third place in the ranking, including his name on the list of winners of the traditional championship held in Melbourne.

Sinner had never reached a Grand Slam decision, and the beginning of the match gave the impression that his opponent’s greater experience would prevail – Australian Open finalist also in 2021 and 2022 and US Open champion in 2021. He was imposing his game in which Medvedev opened a two-set lead.

Jannik, however, managed to show strength and gained the support of the public, willing to see more tennis. The young man, who had a semi-final at Wimbledon as his best Grand Slam result, began to put pressure on his rival in the returns, grew in the game and built the comeback that earned him his biggest trophy.

Moved, the champion valued his vice-president’s effort, with cordial words, and expressed his emotional thanks to his parents. “I wish everyone had the parents I have, because they always let me choose my path. They never pressured me, and I wish that freedom was possible for more children,” he said.

If there hasn’t been a final without Federer, Nadal or Djokovic since 2005, there hasn’t been a champion in Australia outside that list since 2014, when Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka triumphed. And, to join the list of winners, Sinner had to take down one of them in the semi-finals, showing a firmness that qualified him for the trophy.

Owner of ten titles in the competition, Djokovic had his streak of 33 victories in Melbourne interrupted. He had not lost a game in the competition since 2018 – champion in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2023, did not play in 2022 because he had not been vaccinated against Covid-19 –, but he found himself dominated by the young Italian.

The Serb had no chance of breaking serve. This had never happened in his career in full Grand Slam matches – in more than 400 matches, only once, injured, had he left the court before achieving a break point. Still, he triumphed in a partial, but lost by 3 sets to 1 (6/1, 6/2, 6/7 and 6/3).

The 6/7 was the only set lost by Sinner until the decision, in a dominant campaign. Medvedev, on the other side of the bracket, had to play three five-set matches before the final, including the quarterfinals and semifinals. The exhaustion ended up playing against the Russian, who spent 24 hours on the court in the championship.

“Your effort was incredible during the competition, running for every ball,” said the champion to his vice-president. “It’s amazing to see, and I hope you can lift this trophy too. I’m sure you can. For my part, it’s obviously a great tournament, and I want to thank everyone for making this Slam so special.”