As recently as Wimbledon last year, six months ago, Jannik Sinner was simply not ready. As the Italian reached his first grand slam semi-final and sized up the challenge of facing Novak Djokovic, he was unable to find his best form under the significant pressure. One of the most memorable aspects of his three-set defeat were the groans of the Centre Court crowd as Sinner continually fired errors in the third-set tie-break.
Even for the special, precocious players who seem to quickly rise to the top, success is a long process. For Sinner his growth has been clear and easy to follow: he reconfigured his team, hiring Simone Vagnozzi and the famed Australian coach, Darren Cahill. He changed his service motion and began to embrace the biggest moments instead of cowering from them. He has endured numerous tough defeats, but he handled his difficulties with perspective and maturity. It always seemed like he was on the path towards becoming a grand slam champion.
By the end of last year it was clear that this moment was coming. Sinner ended the season in the form of his life, winning two ATP 500 titles, reaching the finale of the ATP Finals and then driving Italy to the Davis Cup title. After this performance, which included an unbelievable recovery from triple match point down against Djokovic, it was hard not to think of the Serb himself. The start of Djokovic’s dominant period in 2011 was preceded by a historic Davis Cup win at the end of 2010.
At the start of 2024 the only remaining question surrounding Sinner’s credentials was whether he was ready to perform at the highest level over best of five sets and navigate the difficulties that come with the format.
On Sunday he played that role to perfection to win his first grand slam title at the Australian Open, defeating Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3. Down two sets against a far more experienced opponent, his first slam final falling away from him, Sinner did not panic. He stayed calm and waited for his chance to turn the match around.
“I like to dance in the pressure storm,” he said afterwards. “Me personally, I like [pressure], because that’s where most of the time I bring out my best tennis. I’m also quite relaxed in this occasion, because I always try to enjoy on the court. I think pressure is a privilege, to be honest.”
Now that he has arrived at the highest levels of his sport, Sinner has everything he needs to continue adding to his palmarès. He has already shown himself to be adept on all surfaces, reaching at least the quarter-finals of all four grand slam tournaments. Between his destructive groundstrokes and his athleticism, he can thrive in all conditions.
Moments after Sinner cracked a final forehand winner down the line to take the match, Carlos Alcaraz was one of the first players to publicly congratulate him. It has been seven years since the ATP’s Next Gen project began, as the sport finally realised its reliance on the Big Three would eventually have to end and tried to look for a next generation of superstars. Even as the ATP began to cry out for someone new, Djokovic and Nadal continued to crush the dreams of the youngsters.
But as the old group has finally waned, leaving only Djokovic at the top, Alcaraz and Sinner have established themselves as the leaders of their generation. They are blessed with their own devastating weapons, athleticism and self-belief but also an understanding of the work and humility required of them to succeed.
Both players have snatched their first grand slam titles playing with such an awesome level of freedom and ease. It is increasingly clear that, barring injury, they will be the focal points of the sport in the coming years and they will battle many times for the biggest titles.
Medvedev remains the only player from the Next Gen group to win a grand slam title and establish himself at the top of the sport. He has built an incredible career in recent years and his success belies the greater hype that his contemporaries received. But what a painful way to lose. He is now 1-5 in grand slam finals and the first man in history to lose two major finals from two sets up.
Despite the painful defeats Medvedev has had to digest, his thoughtfulness and sincerity after some of the toughest moments in his career is always so striking. He will come again.
“I don’t know what’s happening next,” Medvedev said, “but I’m really going to try to keep the mentality that I go for the next grand slam, and I go try to win there and in the middle there is going to be some other tournaments. If I play them, I play them to win. Otherwise I would stay at home with my family.”
