Jannik Sinner ‘perseveres’ to bag first Australian Open title

Italy’s Jannik Sinner Sunday made a remarkable comeback against Russia’s Daniil Medvedev to clinch his first-ever Australian Open title at Melbourne Park’s Rod Laver Arena.

Sinner, 22, had a rather shaky start after losing the first two sets against Medvedev, however, the Italian showed remarkable resilience and grit to bounce back and win the all-important final.

The five-set battle saw Sinner triumphing with 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 during more than three-hour-long back-and-forth clash.

With today’s win, Sinner became the first Italian since Adriano Panatta in 1976 to win a Grand Slam.  During his road to the final, the Italian, world no 4, lost only one set which came against 10-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic in the semi-final.

The 22-year-old now has 10 wins in his last 11 matches against the top-five ranked opponents.

After securing his first Slam, Sinner fell to the floor before getting up and thanking the crowd for their unparalleled support throughout the match. He then went on to hug his coaches, who were waiting for him in his box.

“Hello everyone. Daniil, I want to congratulate you and your team for an amazing tournament again,” Sinner said in a post-match ceremony. 

“We’ve played so many finals together. Every match I find something where I can improve. You make me a much, much better player. Your effort has been awesome all tournament.

“The hours off the court and also today, running for every ball. It’s remarkable to see. I hope you can lift this trophy here. I’m sure that you can,” the champion added.

Medvedev, who lost to Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open 2022 final in a five-setter after winning the first two sets, became the first player to lose two Grand Slam finals from two sets to 0 up.

It is worth mentioning that while Sinner defeated his opponents throughout the campaign with ease, Medvedev had to fight his way as the Russian only managed to win one match in straight sets.

Medvedev came into the final having played three five-setters.

Today’s defeat was a moment of heartbreak for the former US Open champion who lost the 2022 Melbourne final to Nadal after being two sets up and has now lost five of his six major title clashes.

“It’s been honestly an amazing two weeks. It always hurts to lose in the final but probably being in the final is better than losing before,” Medvedev said at the trophy ceremony.

“I always want to win but I guess I have to try harder next time. But I’m proud of myself, I’m going to try even harder next time,” he concluded.

With additional input from Reuters