Trailing two sets to nil, world No. 4 Jannik Sinner defeated No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in the Open Australia final 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 and clinched his first Grand Slam title on Sunday in Melbourne.
Sinner, who exposed world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, becomes the third Italian player to win a Grand Slam at 22, the first in almost half a century. He is the very first at the Australian Open.
Medvedev is reliving his nightmare from 2022, when he was beaten after two sets to nil in the final in Melbourne, against Rafael Nadal.
The 27-year-old Russian undoubtedly paid the price in the end for his crazy fortnight in Australia, in which he had already won three matches in five sets, including two after being two sets to nil (in the semi-finals and second round). .
He, who is playing his sixth major final, remains for now with a Grand Slam title, which he won at the US Open in 2021 (against Djokovic).
Sinner crowned the tournament with a first major crowning achievement in which he achieved what no one had done before: stopping Djokovic as soon as he had reached the last four in Melbourne.
However, the game on Sunday evening in the Rod Laver Arena was one-sided in favor of Medvedev for almost two sets, until the score was 5-1 in the second set.
At the time, perhaps because it was his first major final, Sinner was only a shadow of the powerful player who had defeated Djokovic on his favorite court two days earlier.
Medvedev, on the other hand, executed his plan perfectly: he grabbed the young Italian by the throat, forced his nature and even went to the net, all while relying on a super-efficient serve.
On Sinner's side, the spark finally ignited at the end of the second round when he reduced the gap from 5:1 to 5:3.
The Tyrolean with the red hair gradually freed himself and with him his heavy blow, both with the forehand and with the backhand, in order to gain the physical upper hand over Medvedev, out of breath.
Before the final, Medvedev had played almost six hours more than his young opponent.
With his victory, Sinner became the fifth Italian, after Nicola Pietrangeli (Roland-Garros 1959 and 1960) and Adriano Panatta (Roland-Garros 1976), to have his name entered in the winners' list of a Grand Slam tournament. Francesca Schiavone (Roland-Garros 2010) and Flavia Pennetta (US Open 2015).