Here is a resurrection. And with it a final landing in the heights, where Carlos Alcaraz finds a partner. Make way for Jannik Sinner, the boy who beat Novak Djokovic two days ago and has just made a monumental comeback in Melbourne, witness to an extraordinary episode: only eight times did he score 0-2 in the final of a major event in the US Open Era , starting in 1968. It's almost midnight and he, already crowned after masterfully defeating Daniil Medvevev, the first major in the showcase, heads to the stands of Rod Laver Arena. Of course it has to be filmed in Parliament. Short and direct. “Hello everyone,” he says with the trophy in his hand. “I don’t know what else to say…” he adds naively. The red-haired boy with disheveled hair who threatened hard blows (3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 and 6-3, in 3 hours and 44 minutes) and the elegant Russian giant congratulate him and comfort each other. What a cure.
“It always hurts, but losing in the final is better than losing before. Next time I'll try to do better. Maybe my family turned off the TV today,” he says optimistically, seeing the glass half full because otherwise he would drown his sorrows. There are reasons: six results, five defeats. Third in Australia. Complete the trip with 24 hours and 17 minutes on court and 31 sets. An atrocity. Melted, he failed to apply the lasso, and the reborn sinner burns him. “Here with the sun it is better than in Europe,” says the champion, at 22 years old the youngest in the Antipodean major since Djokovic in 2008. He is also the fifth tennis player of his nationality to reach the summit in a great stage after Pietrangelli, Pannatta, Schiavone and Pennetta. And he simplifies: “I try to get better every day.” So here is Sinner, the Tyrolean from Innichen, who is suffering this Sunday, correcting himself and rising up to turn the situation around.
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From the start, Medvedev has the killer look of Medvedev, that of someone who has meticulously hatched the plan and is executing it in cold blood, without bending, methodically, in his own way. Like Daniil, trademark. Perhaps it seems as if his proposal simply responds to anarchy, because of the heterodoxy and that strange way of beating and moving, that there is no order or control, but the forms hide the substance. The Russian is a chess player disguised as a tennis player. To this complex and strategically twisted mind – in the good sense of the word – the track is made up of little black and white squares, a constant land of possibilities. Every ball is an opportunity to do damage. He has everything in his head and is aware of the upstart's nervousness. He approaches the matter on land, on water and in the air, with the backhand and forehand. The entire arsenal. This way it opens a gap and this way it marks territory: Hey, boy, I know what this is about.
Medvedev complains during the game.ISSEI KATO (Portal)
Skillets everywhere, deep scoops and intention in every single scoop. Rasea, which thus multiplies the effect; No matter how young he is, 22 years of excitement, the rival will have lumbago in the end. He is always smart. “Maybe the experience will help me,” he said two days earlier. And so much. Long time cousin. He also likes to sketch, opens up perspectives and continually explores the boundaries and really enjoys service. He resolves every turn with lightning speed, while Sinner quickly limps and falters, gradually losing control as if he had remained in Friday's semifinal against Djokovic. A finale to a great story is a different story and the Italian answers shyly, stiffly, somewhat self-consciously. “I am dead,” he will say in the third sentence. He doesn't let up even when shooting. He quickly gives in and there is a murmur in headquarters because there are fears that the final could be decided too quickly. Mr. Imbalance.
The ghosts of 2022
The first set lasts just over half an hour and 36 minutes, and the second offers a little more debate in the rallies, but the moment the Russian confirms the break and is already 4-1 up, that's the feeling slightly less than in the final One way and only one exit, because there is the determined and majestic Medvedev, the relentless, the wild, the one who does not allow discussions and who finds solutions so quickly that it seems as if he is in a hurry, to shower and go home. Daniil, the practical one. That's how he is. He extends it a little longer, 49 minutes. But he doesn't forgive. That's not even why Sinner gets involved in the duel. There will be a twist later. Yes, that's tennis. His engine doesn't warm up, as if he had stayed in a dream and held on to the historic victory against Nole. The date goes great for him, even better for the opponent. But Medvedev should not claim victory. You'll see why.
From the ditch, his paradise, he continues to strike continuously and next to him his trainer, a good guy, unique, the Frenchman Gilles Cervara, strokes his unkempt beard. “Don’t trust him, Daniil,” he says with his gesture. Don't trust him, he insists again with his grimace. Remember what happened here. You know: 2022, two setups, that 96% to 4% that reflected the blessed artificial intelligence in his favor and… the nightmare he'll never forget. The wound still hurts, but the story is completely different this time, he might think. Before him is no longer a certain Rafael Nadal, but a young man who projects, climbs and promises, but who, in the face of the new circumstances, loses his power and the immutability that is so characteristic of him, because the nervousness destroys his forehand and all that The reliability he was used to is lost. turns into tension and uncertainty, long ball or into the net, fades with the serve. He had lost it twice in the tournament, Medvedev had stolen it four times in an hour and a half.
Sinner, during the game. JAMES ROSS (EFE)
Everything becomes a rather flat, straightforward and emotionless act, as the Russian wants it. Pure chloroform. Aseptic night in Melbourne until, perhaps confident, bad for not heeding Cervara's coded wink, he slows down and shows the bang. This time it's not what happened in 2022, that lack of focus and that connection to the public that ultimately tore him to pieces, no; On this occasion his strength is punished. It empties very easily. Without knowing exactly how, Sinner suddenly finds himself there, thanks to two very badly hit balls from his opponent, and since tennis is a state of mind (in reality, like almost everything in life), he revives, he grows. and shows that you are now ready to really fly. You may think, why not? Unbelievable, there is an end. With two defeats, the Tyrolean proves the virtue of not giving up, believing and waiting. It's no longer a monologue, but a full-fledged you to yourself.
As the clock ticks, Medvedev feels too burdened by the six hours he spent on the track. something like two additional games. He arrives too late, the two legs weaken like wires and the Moscow leg fades away, once again surrounded by ghosts and in the rallies gradually surrendered by Sinner's heavy, metallurgical bullet, turning again into that impassive and deadly puncher, pushing, pushing and pushes without stopping. This way, there is hardly anyone who can stop him. It overwhelms and overpowers until the person in front of it has no escape, from blow to blow. This appearance has something of Borg himself, the cyborg of the Highlands. And here he is, Jannik, the good, educated and hard-working boy who also plays like an angel and speaks well. What more do you want? Great new representative of this beautiful and cruel sport. Let them ask Medvedev. Not a bad gesture this time, but the same epilogue: Australia and him, a nightmare. Glory now to the sinner.
FINAL IN WHICH A 0-2 LEAD WAS REMAINED
– 1975: Borg to Orantes at Roland Garros.
– 1984: Ivan Lendl to John McEnroe at Roland Garros.
– 1999: Andre Agassi to Andrei Medvedev at Roland Garros.
– 2004: Gaston Gaudio to Guillermo Coria in Roland Garros.
– 2020: Dominic Thiem against Alexander Zverev at the US Open.
– 2021: Novak Djokovic vs Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros.
– 2022: Rafael Nadal to Daniil Medvedev in Australia.
– 2024: Jannik Sinner to Daniil Medvedev in Australia.
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