Storming Sinner wins five-set thriller
MELBOURNE — Jannik Sinner stormed back from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev in a grueling five-set Australian Open final on Sunday, winning his first Grand Slam.
The Italian fourth seed was blown off course in the first two sets, but recovered to win 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in three hours and 44 minutes.
The result is a bitter blow for the Russian third seed, who has now lost a second Australian Open final after being two sets up, following his defeat to Rafael Nadal in 2022.
Medvedev came into the match boasting a 6-3 winning record against the 22-year-old, but had lost the past three matches.
The Russian had played three grueling five-setters at Melbourne Park and spent nearly six hours longer on the court than Sinner before the final.
But, looking fresh, he was quickly into his stride, unsettling the usually calm Italian, who was unable to find any sort of rhythm.
Sinner, playing in his first Grand Slam final, was broken just twice in the entire tournament in the run-up to Sunday’s title decider, but Medvedev doubled that tally in just the first set.
World No 4 Sinner was again in deep trouble at the start of the second set, fending off multiple break points against a hungry Medvedev, and pleading for backing from the crowd at Rod Laver Arena.
He survived that onslaught, but was broken for a third time in the match in the fourth game, when a poor drop shot allowed the Russian to set up a winner.
Medvedev raced through his service game, giving Sinner no time to gather his thoughts.
He hit a fierce forehand to set up two more break points in the sixth game, and Sinner went wide with a forehand to slip to a 5-1 deficit.
The Italian hit back immediately and had another break point in the ninth game, but Medvedev snuffed out the mini-revival.
The third set was tighter until the decisive 10th game.
Sinner put a forehand passing shot wide at the end a 31-shot rally, missing out on the chance to earn two set points, but his chance came again and this time he took it.
The momentum was now with Sinner, and Medvedev, who required strapping for his foot, had to fight hard to hold on early in the fourth set.
Sinner fired three aces to edge 4-3 ahead and broke in the 10th game, when Medvedev fired long to take the match into a fifth set.
With the tension mounting, both players stayed solid on their serve, until the sixth game, when Medvedev dumped a backhand into the net to give Sinner three break points.
A forehand crosscourt winner gave the Italian the crucial break, and he went on to take his first championship point.
Sinner began his professional career playing on the ITF Circuit in 2018.
He won the ATP Challenger title in 2019, becoming the youngest Italian to do so, and qualified for the main draw of the 2019 US Open.
He won his first Grand Slam main-draw match at the Australian Open in 2020 and, that same year, he reached the quarterfinals of the French Open.
He won the 2020 Sofia Open, his first ATP title, and became the youngest Italian to win a tour-level title in the Open Era.
He reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon in 2023.
He also reached a career-high ranking of world No 4, becoming just the second Italian to reach the top five.