Incredible, insane, epic: Sinner wins the Australian Open!

This Sunday, January 28th, 2024, will go down in the history of South Tyrol, Italy and the tennis world: Jannik Sinner, this 22-year-old boy wonder from the mountain village of Sexten, won the Australian Open in a completely crazy final!

28 January 2024

From: det

If someone had said a few years ago that there would soon be a Grand Slam winner in South Tyrol, they would probably have called them crazy. But then this prodigy named Jannik Sinner came along. At a rapid pace, the man from Sexten climbed the steep ladder on his way to the top of the world, conquered millions of hearts in the process and on Sunday provided the provisional - historic - highlight of his young career: At the Australian Open, Sinner won with an epic 3: 6, 3:6, 6:4, 6:4, 6:3 win against Daniil Medvedev for the first time in a Grand Slam tournament!

Incredible, insane, crazy – these are the words that come to mind after this legendary triumph. Because how this victory in the final against Daniil Medvedev – number 3 in the world – came about was simply crazy.

Sinner catches up with a 0-2 set deficit

In his first Grand Slam final, Sinner looked like a sure loser for a long time. Against an unleashed Medvedev, who initially celebrated tennis close to perfection, the 22-year-old had almost no chance and ran after a 0-2 set deficit after just over an hour. What followed was an epic comeback that will go down in tennis history.

In a real battle of strength and nerves, Sinner fought his way back into the match against the increasingly tired Medvedev, won the third and fourth sets 6:4 each and thus forced the all-decisive fifth set. It was exactly there that Sinner showed the class with which he overcame the great Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and got himself into his first Grand Slam final.

Sinner is already a legend

When the man from Sexten broke his opponent and thus secured the preliminary decision, the Rod Laver Arena and the many Sinner fans were upside down. After 3.46 hours he finally used the match point - and was crowned King of Australia! For Medvedev, meanwhile, there was the bitterest déjà vu that is possible in the tennis circus: In 2022, he was already 2-0 ahead against Rafael Nadal in the final of the Australian Open and still lost the match.

There's the thing for Jannik Sinner. © APA/afp / DAVID GRAY

Sinner is the first tennis player from Italy to win the Australian Open. Adriano Panatta won the last Grand Slam title for the boot state in the distant year 1976 at the French Open. Now this young boy from Sexten named Jannik Sinner has arrived at the tennis Olympus. What a day for South Tyrol, for Italy, for the entire tennis world!

The Protocol of the Sinner Triumph

Sinner despairs	Before Sinner knows it, he is chasing a break in the first set. While the player from Sexten is nervous (especially with the first serve, which he always struggles with), Medvedev conjures up his best tennis and wins the first set in just 36 minutes.
Dominant	Medvedev's force took Sinner by surprise, who was quickly 1:5 behind in the second set and kept looking questioningly at his coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi. However, things are improving slightly: The Sexten player fights his way to 3:5 with a break, but still has to give up the set.
He is back	Sinner is back! During the 45-minute third set, the South Tyrolean finally found his way into the game. The Sesto native now seems much more confident and mentally much more liberated. Proof of this? Sinner only hit 9 unforced errors in the third set, while Medvedev made 15 mistakes. The 22-year-old takes the set 6:4!
Battle of nerves	It's clear: Sinner senses his chance. He is now the better player on the court, while Medvedev now has to pay tribute to his horrendous initial pace. The fact that the Russian was on the pitch around six hours longer than Sinner over the course of the tournament also plays a role. The Pusterer also clinched set number 4 with 6:4.
The coronation	Every point from Sinner is enthusiastically applauded in the Rod Laver Arena. When the man from Sexten takes his opponent's serve with the score at 3:2 and ensures the preliminary decision, the stadium turns upside down. A little later, Sinner makes the triumph perfect.