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Jannik Sinner shocked Daniil Medvedev to grab his hand on the Australian Open 2024 title on January 25. Jannik Sinner made a remarkable comeback, overturning a two-set deficit to defeat Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 in the dramatic Australian Open final, securing his maiden Grand Slam title.
At 22 years old, Sinner was competing in his first major final, having reached this stage by stunning Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, thereby ending Djokovic's long-standing dominance in the tournament. This victory marks him as the first Italian ever to win the Australian Open.
For Medvedev, the 2021 US Open winner, this defeat adds to his history of near misses, being his fifth loss in six Grand Slam finals. Medvedev, the third seed, set an Open era record for the most time spent on court in a single major and the most five-set matches in a tournament, surpassing Carlos Alcaraz's record of 23:40 at the 2022 U.S. Open.
Medvedev had previously lost consecutive finals at the Australian Open, first to Djokovic in 2021 and then to Rafael Nadal in 2022, despite leading by two sets. In this tournament, he managed three five-set victories, including two remarkable recoveries from two sets down. Sinner, on the other hand, lost just one set in six rounds – in a third-set tiebreak against Djokovic – before his stunning five-set victory on Sunday.
Sinner joins the ranks of Italian Grand Slam men’s singles champions, alongside Nicola Pietrangeli, winner of consecutive Roland Garros titles in 1959 and 1960, and Adriano Panatta, the 1976 Roland Garros champion.
At the age of 22 years and 165 days, Sinner becomes the youngest Australian Open men’s singles champion since Djokovic's victory in 2008 at the age of 20 years and 250 days.
The match began with Medvedev breaking Sinner's serve in the third game. Facing a 3-5 deficit, Sinner couldn't hold his serve, resulting in Medvedev taking the first set.
Medvedev continued his momentum to claim the second set with the same 6-3 score.
In the third set, with the score at 4-5, Medvedev struggled to hold his serve under pressure, allowing Sinner to break and take his first set of the match.
A critical moment occurred when Sinner, facing a break point at 3-4, delivered an ace and eventually held his serve with a decisive winner.
Medvedev, once again needing to hold serve at 4-5, faltered by sending a backhand wide, giving Sinner a break point. A subsequent long forehand by Medvedev evened the set at 2-2.
The fifth set began with a lengthy 39-shot rally, ending with Medvedev's backhand error.
The pivotal break came in the sixth game, with Sinner earning two break points and converting the first to lead 4-2. Serving for the championship at 5-3, Sinner maintained his composure and clinched the title with a forehand winner down the line.
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