Australian Open
After tennis drama: Sinner wins first Grand Slam title
Jannik Sinner falls onto the court after his triumph at the Australian Open. photo
© Mark Baker/AP/dpa
The Italian Jannik Sinner is crowned King of Melbourne. In a thrilling finale he catches up with a big deficit. The future belongs to Sinner.
After the impressive comeback to the first Grand Slam title of his career Jannik Sinner simply fell onto the light blue floor of the Rod Laver Arena. The 22-year-old Italian won the final of the Australian Open against Alexander Zverev’s conqueror Daniil Medvedev from Russia 3:6, 3:6, 6:4, 6:4, 6:3 and thus celebrated the greatest success of his tennis career. Career.
Sinner, who dethroned defending champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, converted his first match point after 3:44 hours at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
As he accepted the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup from former champion Jim Courier, Sinner smiled mischievously. There was no exuberant cheering from Italy’s young star; it seemed as if Sinner couldn’t believe what he had just achieved. The biggest thanks went to his parents. “I wish everyone could have my parents. They always let me do whatever I wanted. I wish all kids had that freedom,” said Sinner, who was also a very good skier in his youth.
Sinner crowned an impressive tournament in his first ever Grand Slam final. The South Tyrolean was the dominant player for two weeks and remained without losing a set until the semi-finals. For Medvedev, however, it was the third defeat in a final in Melbourne.
The world number three had to admit defeat to Novak Djokovic in 2021 and Rafael Nadal in 2022. Two years ago he gave up a 2-0 set lead against Nadal, as he did now against Sinner. “It was a great two weeks, even if it hurt to lose in the final,” said Medvedev, who made up for a 2-0 set deficit against Zverev in the semifinals. “But I think it’s better to lose in the final than before.”
Sabalenka wins women’s title
In the women’s category, Aryna Sabalenka successfully defended her title on Saturday and won her second Grand Slam tournament. The world number two clearly defeated the Chinese Zheng Qinwen in a one-sided final 6:3, 6:2 and thus crowned an impressive tournament. The 25-year-old from Belarus stayed the entire two weeks without losing a set.
Sinner was clearly nervous in the most important game of his career so far. The Italian conceded an early break and made an unusually large number of slight mistakes. Medvedev, however, stepped up the pace two days after his marathon match against Zverev. In the previous tournament, the Russian had been on the court for a good six hours longer than Sinner, who had only lost one set in the semifinals against Djokovic. So he wanted to put pressure on it.
He did this impressively for two sentences. He won the first round after just 36 minutes. In the second set he took serve from Sinner twice and quickly moved away to 5:1. Against Djokovic, Sinner didn’t allow a single break point in the entire game. Now he had already conceded three breaks in two sets and looked desperately at a trainer Darren Cahill in the stands.
Sinner catches up
The experienced coach tried to calm Sinner and encourage him. And indeed, last year’s Davis Cup champion was just finally starting to find his form. Sinner shortened the score to 3:5, fended off a set point from Medvedev and had a break point himself. But Medvedev survived the critical phase and also took the second set.
Sinner had finally reached the final. The 22-year-old made fewer mistakes and was much more powerful. At the same time, Medvedev noticed the strain of the previous games. No player has ever spent more hours on the tennis court at a Grand Slam tournament than the Russian.
Sinner took the third set to the cheers of the spectators and stayed in control. But Medvedev held on and still found a way to maintain his service. Until 4:5 – then Sinner managed the break and forced a deciding set. There Medvedev was completely at the end of his strength. Sinner managed the break to 4:2 and won the title a little later.